The Devil on Our Backs
by AnikaAnn
Summary: The Flash is recovering after Zoom's attack (the events of 2x06 Enter Zoom). What's better than a trip to New York City with his friends to remind him that he's also Barry Allen? If Cisco picks Hell's Kitchen for his own reasons, no one needs to know. Matt is having the time of his life, being a lawyer, a vigilante, a friend and a fiancé. What could possibly go wrong? A lot.
1. Make yourself at home

_I did mention I have a thing for crossovers, right? So, for one, I couldn't help myself. But also, it may not look like it, but I'm playing a long-term game here. Not sure I will stick until the end, but I would like to. If you're on board too, I'll be delighted._

_Follows the storyline of the **Damned** 'verse. Set some time after 'Things Unseen, Things Unheard'._

-.-.-

**1\. Make yourself at home**

Cisco was trying his best to ignore it, but he couldn't – Caitlin was examining the room with her nose crinkled, placing her suitcase by one of the beds cautiously as if she was worried it might get infected. Still, it was probably better than her looking over her shoulder as she had been doing before they had entered the hotel.

Conclusion – she really didn't like it here and she didn't bother hiding it.

Cisco was just opening his mouth to comment on that; she beat him to speaking.

"Why is our hotel in the part of city which possibly has the highest crime rate again?" she asked bluntly, tossing her hair aside as she spun to squint at him.

"Because, my dear Dr. Snow," Cisco pronounced ceremonially, spreading the curtains at the window, "there is a lovely view."

"Is that the Stark Tower?" Barry asked incredulously, walking to the window and Cisco couldn't help a smug smile.

"_The Avengers_ Tower, my friend."

"So we're in a scary hotel, in a scary neighbourhood, just because there is a good view on some skyscraper?" Cisco covered his chest with his palm, wounded and offended at Caitlin's note – '_some skyscraper'?!_ "You're joking, Cisco. Not to mention there are probably tens of other hotels that would have the view too."

"Yeah, but those we can't effort. Plus, you know. We might get lucky and run into the Devil of Hell's Kitchen – well, Daredevil, actually."

"I _cannot_ believe you."

Barry's awe turned bitter. "Well, at least someone's still protecting their city."

_Sad friend alert! Sad friend alert!_

Of course, Cisco should have expected that his note would gain such reaction. With Barry losing his speed due to the fight with Zoom – which was something that might have been caused by the little fact his spine had been fucking broken by the evil speedster – the famous Flash of Central City was wrecked.

They all knew that when Barry had woken up and couldn't even feel his legs, things were really, _really_ bad. They also knew that him walking again now was a freaking miracle and they should thank heavens for that (or the particle accelerator explosion really, because that was how Barry's body had gained the ability to heal impossibly fast, but that would mean thanking Harrison Wells who in fact had been Eobard Thawne in Harrison Wells' body and— yeah).

The point was that while Barry could walk again, the speed just… hadn't come back. He was making real progress – what had started as six heavy slow steps had turned into twenty and then Barry was back on his feet. But _the Flash_ wasn't and Cisco could only imagine how hard that must have been for the hero of Central City.

Hence this whole trip to New York. Changing the scenery, hanging out with friends without their lives being on line and all that.

"Hey, hey, buddy. You're getting better. You're totally getting back in the saddle soon and you're gonna be the coolest again," Cisco reassured him, patting his arm. "I mean, seriously? DD's a vigilante. He's Oliver; dark and brooding, you know the drill. You're a _hero_._"_

Cisco could tell Barry didn't quite believe it, but he obviously appreciated the effort and smiled tightly.

"Thank you, Cisco. I hope you're right."

"You bet your Star Wars collection I am. Speaking of Oliver, Felicity recommended a café we should definitely check out. _In _Hell's Kitchen, actually. How does that sound?"

"Sure, why not. But it will be ridiculously crowded right now. Maybe some small breakfast and walk through the Central Park before?" Catlin offered and really, who would say no to her hopeful eyes?

"Big breakfast," Cisco corrected her and Barry grinned for the first time since they had arrived.

"Big breakfast and Central Park sounds great."

-.-.-

With their stomachs full with slightly overpriced food from a local diner, they seated themselves on one of the benches in the most famous park on the island of Manhattan.

Cisco leaned onto the backrest indulgingly, enjoying the early May sunrays. Life was good. No supervillains (except for Zoom who went awol even in Central), no metahumans (apart from himself and Barry, who was more like a regular guy for now), the sun warm on his skin and his two best friends by his side, relatively content. Caitlin seemed mollified now when they at least visited one of the landmarks of New York City and Barry… well.

Cisco looked at him with the corner of his eye. He seemed strangely melancholic, but somewhat content too.

Yeah, life was good.

Fifth runner in the past ten minutes passed their bench and Cisco rolled his eyes – that guy was sweaty as hell, his lungs several feet in front of him as he was vainly trying to catch his breath, but he kept checking on his watch, probably to know how many calories he had burned. The woman who had passed them earlier had seemed to be light as feather and truly enjoying herself at least, but Cisco still couldn't see the appeal of it.

"I don't understand why people obsess with running, I mean, come on!" he vented his thoughts, subtly gesturing towards the guy whose lungs decided to wait for him now when he stopped. Barry and Caitlin eyed Cisco with raised eyebrows, apparently amused. He realized what he said to the once fastest man alive who had made his hero carrier by _running_. "Right. Sorry. Lack of caffeine."

Caitlin laughed. "Okay, I hear you, let's check out the local café and find out if they have better coffee than the famous Jitters."

"Ohhh, that sounds like a challenge. Felicity wouldn't say, but she sounded very thirsty for the caramel latté she was talking about."

"How far?" Barry asked absently and Cisco pulled out his phone, examining the GPS.

"Meh, twenty minutes tops."

"I can smell the melting whipped cream already…" Caitlin said dreamily and at that note, they all rose to their feet, following their heart.

-.-.-

They made it in fifteen. The café was half empty due to the hour, but Cisco fell in love with it immediately. The space was warm, radiating an aura of familiarity rather than the cold uniformity of Starbucks. The furniture was tuned in green and orange, but otherwise everything did remind him of their favourite café back home.

They joined the short line and Cisco's eyes fell of the girls behind the counter – only and only girls. He definitely appreciated his coffee served by nice girls and somehow, the female workers put him at ease. He didn't know why. Maybe he just liked to feast his eyes before getting some caffeine into his bloodstream.

"I have no idea what to order," Caitlin muttered, her gaze focused on the boards listing the drinks. Cisco quickly followed her example – for a rather small café, they really did have an impressively wide choice of coffees and related drinks. Not to mention the cakes. Oh god, the cakes… if he hadn't had breakfast only over an hour ago, he wouldn't resist.

"Welcome to MDDC, what can I get you?" female voice snapped him from his inner dilemma.

Huh, he hadn't noticed it was their turn to order already. He glanced down from the drinks list, facing the barista and _whoa_, that was a very cute smile.

"Hey," he let out intelligently, smiling widely too. Her eyebrow jumped inconspicuously, but the corners of her lips moved higher too.

"Uhm… hi. I'll get a caramel latté? Tall. Extra sugar," Barry ordered for himself, slightly kicking Cisco's shin. The engineer shot him a wounded look.

"Sure. Here, or to go?"

"Oh, here."

"Alright." Her gazed flickered between Cisco and Caitlin, apparently unsure who she should address next.

"Anything you would recommend?" Cisco blurted out, his mind racing. The barista – Vera, how he could see when eyeing her nametag – turned to him hesitantly, apparently caught off guard. Not possibly interested then? _Dammit, Ramon._

"Oh, well, we have a lot of drinks and it really depends on your taste-"

Cisco was very sure of his tastes. Pretty smile was definitely it. Slim but not gaunt, nice shiny eyes, black straight hair barely below shoulders… yep, the rest of her didn't seem bad either. And she had some kind of a cute accent?

"Something sweet?" he offered smoothly and he was fairly certain he _heard_ Caitlin roll her eyes.

Vera's cheeks lightly reddened, her gaze lowering when he met it. Oh, cute _and _shy. _Count your blessings and try your best, Ramon._

Barry next to him coughed. It sounded a little as if he tried to say something, but Cisco couldn't make it out and frankly didn't really care. Barry did it again.

"_Ring,"_ he sort of thundered and Cisco's gaze quickly checked their barista's left hand.

Barry was right. Cisco snapped his head back to her face, blush creeping up his neck too. _Dammit shit_. The barista lowered her eyes even more, apparently understanding Barry's not so subtle hint.

"Shit. Sorry. All pretty ones are gay or taken," he mumbled under his breath. "I'll have what he does. But without the extra sugar. Uhm, sorry."

The girl laughed. "It's okay, really. It's the apron. The fact someone serves coffee automatically makes them more attractive."

Cisco checked the other two baristas, both girls too. One of them – with bright orange hair – looked a little frozen, quite likeable in a completely platonic way and the other… well, blond, forgettable.

"I don't think that's it."

Barry face-palmed while Vera entered the order to the cash box, unable to look at their faces. "And for you, miss?"

Caitlin barely opened her mouth when the said orange-haired barista appeared by Vera's side.

"Sorry, I'll take the rest of your order," she hurried, her face rather pale, her eyes somewhat haunted.

"What, why?" the other girl protested, bewildered.

Terri – the new barista – bit her lip. "Matt called. You need to call him back. _Now."_

"What?!" Vera startled and shoved her hand to her pocket, pulling out a phone. "He didn't call me. Why did he call you?"

"I don't know. But it sounded _urgent_. Go call him back."

Cisco watched the exchange, not following. But obviously it was something private. Matt – fiancé? Brother? Someone close to her with a habit of getting into trouble? Cisco knew those types.

"That doesn't make any-"

"Dammit, Vera! Just go to the back and call him!" Terri hissed, sounding honestly desperate.

"O-okay. Sorry." The black-haired girl shot them an apologetic smile, walking away.

"I'll have the vanilla latté, please. Tall, h-"

Caitlin's voice was cut off by something that sounded dangerously like a gunshot, making them all jump, stopping Cisco's heart.

As he automatically crouched and covered his head, he would swear he heard their new barista curse.

-.-.-.-.-.-  
Notes:  
Warning: slow updates. For me. I might manage once a week?


	2. A proper welcome

_Just because it's International Woman's Day - you'll see why. We are strong. (Men are too, but ya' know. 8th March and all that ;) )_

-.-.-.-

**2\. A proper welcome**

The time stood still for a second and Cisco wondered if this was how Barry felt when using his speed – everything moving in a slow motion, except Cisco could tell he was moving in turtle speed together with the rest of the world.

The gunman had a white plastic mask on his face, otherwise he was dressed in casual clothes, jeans and a hoodie, just a guy Cisco could meet walking down the street. Except this one was carrying a gun. And the gun was aimed at the ceiling, releasing one more shot, forcing Cisco to curl into himself. Eyeing his surroundings, he could see everyone else doing the same.

And then the man moved his weapon, the barrel of the gun suddenly pointed at Cisco. Cisco's heart stopped for long seconds.

_Don't shoot, please, don't shoot-_

"You, move away," he rasped, beckoning to Cisco's right and Cisco didn't hesitate, following the order. He got away from the counter.

Barry and Caitlin joined him, but the gunman grabbed Cait's shoulder, yanking her up to and he put the gun to her temple.

_Shit, shit, shit-_

Caitlin met his horrified gaze, but she inconspicuously shook her head. _Do as he asks. _

_Yeah, easier said than done!_

"You, give me all money you have. And _you_ from the back! Get up and come here!" the robber yelled and Cisco automatically turned his head in the direction.

Their original barista, Vera, was standing there, relatively close to a 'staff only' door, phone still in her hand. She cautiously raised her hands in surrender. Did she manage to call for help? Judging by the look on her face, it didn't seem like it.

As she walked closer, Cisco's brain was working 120 percent. He managed to grip Barry's forearm before the not-so-fast-speedster could storm after the gunman with his pathetically working powers; he was also scared shitless for Caitlin and in the back of his mind, the craziest idea of the orange-haired girl being a metahuman, who could somehow predict the future, popped out. Or maybe this 'Matt' had actually called her, because _he_ was a metahuman and saw the robbery happen? That was insane, right? And why would she even send Vera away? Why not hide herself as well, warn everyone…?

"Hey... why don't you put the gun down? No one needs to get hurt-" Vera spoke up in a soothing tone, making Cisco blink is surprise.

He wasn't sure what she was thinking, talking to a guy with a gun, but hey. She had balls, he'd give her that. He just hoped it wouldn't cost anyone their live.

"You think I'm an idiot?!" the gunman snarled at her, his arm wrapping around Caitlin's torso. "She's leverage! Put the phone on the floor."

"Alright, alright-" Vera slowly lowered herself and laid the phone down.

Cisco shot Caitlin an anxious look, feeling Barry at his side vibrating in impatience. _Literally_ vibrating.

"_Barry, don't. You're not geared up. In better case you expose yourself, in worse you get shot,"_ Cisco whispered urgently.

"HEY!" the robber yelled. "You're chatty! Want me to shoot her?!"

Cisco's blood ran cold. "No!"

"Hey, hey! Don't hurt her. They are just worried about her!" Vera blurted out, extending her hands in an urgent gesture. Her expression was giving Cisco the impression of her trying to solve the most difficult puzzle in the universe. Then her lips parted. "And I get it, because she's pregnant."

Cisco and Barry simultaneously shot the barista an incredulous glare, seeing the girl gulp nervously. What the fuck?!

"What?"

"That's right. She's pregnant. She's my cousin, okay? She's just visiting with her boyfriend and their friend. She only found out two days ago. Please, don't hurt her. Don't hurt _them_."

Cisco couldn't believe this girl. What the hell was she doing? What was she trying to achieve? Also, in the back of his mind, he asked himself who she had marked as Caitlin's boyfriend and who she had chosen as the friend. Not that it was relevant to the crisis happening right now.

"You wouldn't want to hurt a pregnant woman, right? Let her go-" Vera advised softly again, only to be cut off.

"Like hell!"

"And take someone else! Anyone," Vera pleaded and Caitlin's eyes widened in horror. She was terrified, but she didn't want anyone else to take her place. Why would _Vera_ even want that? "Hell, you can take me for all I care. Just let her go."

Cisco's jaw fell on the floor.

Holy. Mother. Of. Dragons.

The robber actually hesitated, watching the bold black-haired barista. Vera's gaze flickered to Cisco and Barry in compassion. She knew they were scared shitless for their friend. Cisco noticed _Vera's _friend mouthing something very outraged.

"Okay," the gunman responded firmly. "Come here. Come here and I let her go."

The girl gulped, her hands up and showing, but slowly approached the man, giving Caitlin a short and very tiny smile as the gunman shoved the doctor away, immediately aiming the gun at the other girl. Cisco allowed himself to breathe as Caitlin appeared by their side.

"_You're-"_

"_I'm fine."_

"_What the hell is she doing?!"_

"SHUT UP!"

"Hey, they are just making sure she's okay," Vera protested soothingly, rewarded by him pulling her closer to him.

"You shut up too! And you, you forgot about the money or what? Empty the cashbox!"

Terri jumped. "Of course. Of course." She glanced at her friend with half terrified, half murderous look. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Then fucking do what I'm telling you!"

Vera closed her eyes, releasing a shaky breath as the barrel of the gun touched her temple. _Jesus_, this was insane. Why would she offer herself instead of Caitlin? Was she really thinking Caitlin was pregnant or something? Or was she just crazy? Judging by Terri's expression, the second option was more likely.

Speaking of Terri, was his suspicion right? Had she seen any of this happening? Had she seen _this?_ Was that why she had sent Vera to the back, trying to avoid it?

Or was the metahuman chase that lasted over a year now getting to Cisco, making him absolutely paranoid, seeing superpowers where there were none?

"You don't need to do this. What more, you don't want to," Vera whispered cautiously, the gun digging into her skin. Cisco prayed the guy didn't have a twitchy finger. Not that he was religious to begin with.

"You just can't keep your fucking mouth shut, can you?" he complained, squeezing her tighter.

"You'll be caught; maybe now you can still run away. But you don't have much time, someone probably called the police when hearing the gunshot-"

"You want them to hear another one?" he threatened, moving his hand to wrap his fingers around her neck.

"Don't hurt her! She means well. I'm sure the cops aren't the only ones on their way," Terri suddenly spoke up and the corners of Vera's lips rose in a shaky smile.

What the fuck?! What were they talking about? Why was she _smiling?!_

Then it hit him. Daredevil. Or the Avengers; they didn't seem to care about a robbery in a tiny café, but hell if Cisco knew. He felt a flicker of hope tingling in his nerve endings. Maybe they just needed a different hero than the Flash today. Daredevil could be enough.

"He won't come in during the day. Too much light."

"_Guess you're not wrong there…"_ Barry muttered darkly, his hands clenched in fists. It might be paranoia again, but Cisco would swear his friend was in a position that resembled a start of a race too much.

_Well, Daredevil, you better make an exception and hurry up. _

"But he might make an exception!" Terri bargained, her hands slowing down her work.

Cisco felt like he was the one struck by lightning. Of fucking course. They were stalling. Keeping him busy until the cavalry would show up – no matter if it was the police or the vigilante. They were fucking smart. And a little crazy. A lot. Definitely insane.

"Why would he do that?"

"He really likes this café," Terri hummed, shooting Vera somewhat knowing look. Cisco was sensing something else here. A private joke? Was this really a good time?

"Yep. He's a caffeine junkie. How do you think he keeps running around at night?" Vera added. She seemed terrifyingly chipper for someone being held at gunpoint.

"He's… he's coming here, too? Huh…. Well, I doubt he would risk himself for a coffee," the guy noted sarcastically, not even noticing Terri slowing down. Brilliant. And really stupid.

"You might be surprised. He has a sweet tooth too, loves the strawberry cheesecake. Can't really blame him for that. His other favourite is Devil's food."

If the situation was less severe, Cisco would have honestly laughed. But it wasn't. And the gun just cocked as the gunman realized their intentions and got the safety lock out of his way.

Guess the joke was too much. _Crap_.

"Nice try, ladies. Now give me the money or _Daredevil_ will slip on her brain the next time he comes here."

"Okay, okay!" Terri blurted out, her hands getting frantic. She was panicking. Cisco didn't blame her. "Don't shoot. Please, just _don't_ shoot."

"He's gonna be pissed, you know. He'll find you. You can give up to the police, they might protect you from him," Vera continued stubbornly.

"Shut up!"

Cisco's hand slightly shook. Barry's too; in a very high speed. This time it was Caitlin who caught his forearm shooting him a warning look. _Don't,_ she mouthed.

"I know a good lawyer. A defense attorney. He could win you a shorter sentence. And you won't have any broken bones from Dare-"

His hand switched positions; the one with the gun moved to the side of her neck, the other pulling her hair.

Cisco held his breath in fear, his throat closing up.

He was going to shoot her, wasn't he?

"I. Said. Shut. Up."

"_Jesus Christ, Vera, shut your stupid mouth. _Hey, hey, that's all the cash we have!" Terri said quickly, all blood drained from her face. The red and blue suddenly appearing on it gave it a very specific glow.

"Fuck!" the gunman cursed, looking out of the window and the very same second, something absolutely incredible happened.

As the gun moved an inch from Vera's neck, a hand seemingly coming out of nowhere shoved its barrel up. The gunshot rang deafeningly loud in Cisco's ears, making his heart stop in fright, but the girl seemed unaffected, knocking the gun from the mugger's hand and sending it sliding over the floor.

She hissed as he pulled her hair violently on instinct, yet she turned around in one swift movement – Cisco cried internally when he imagined the pain –, punched the arm holding her hair right above its elbow and kneeled the guy in his gut. He didn't even get to use his other hand before that and he was so shocked by her lunge that he let go of her completely.

The rest happened in incredible speed.

He tried to punch her in her face only to be blocked and struck by the edge of her hand to his throat. He wheezed and his hand went to touch the aching spot. She kicked his knee, sending him lower and then placed a sweet hook right to his jaw, followed by another from the other side.

Dumb-struck, the man never saw her next kick coming and he fell to his knees completely.

When the sole of her right feet met with his chest with surprising strength, he fell backwards. Hitting his head, his body went limb.

The barista was standing above him, panting, her fists in front of her chin, ready to strike again if needed.

There was no need.

The man was lying on the floor unconscious, his gun several feet away, and the girl slowly lowered her arms and eased her fighting stance.

Cisco stared at her, speechless, his jaw almost on the floor. He had to remind himself to breathe in. For seconds, the café was deadly silent apart from Vera's heavy breaths and the echo of sirens from the outside.

"What the hell just happened?" Cisco whispered without being in control of his brain-to-mouth filter.

His words broke the spell and Vera shot him a look that seemed to be too animalistic for a human being – and 'deer in the headlights' didn't cover it. She was not only horrified and scared, but also… _wild_.

"I'm going to _kill you!"_ Terri burst out, jumping over the counter, breaking the Cisco-Vera eye contact, and Cisco could see few bills flying away.

The black-haired barista – and ninja in one person, apparently – looked at her colleague and absently tried to roll her wrist. She grimaced.

"No, you're not."

"Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

"Granted," Vera uttered, returning her gaze to the mugger.

"Veronica! He could have killed you!"

"But he didn't."

"Well, that was because he wouldn't hurt such a sassy mouth, huh?! But since he didn't, you can be sure M— Mike _will_."

Vera winced, but didn't look at Terri again – she kept watching the gunman, who _appeared_ to be unconscious. No one dared to move or speak.

"That would be counterproductive, don't you think? Shit, I think I sprained my wrist…"

Caitlin jumped to her feet. "Show me… I'm a doctor. Not pregnant, by the way."

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. You definitely don't look pregnant."

"Well, you possibly saved my life, so…" She carefully touched Vera's wrist, palpating it with a knowing look, until she grimaced too, letting out a disapproving sound. "I think it's actually broken."

They all jumped at the sound of a received text. Terri pulled out her phone, her expression clouding. "She's right, it's broken."

The remaining four people of their peculiar group raised their eyebrows at her claim, while the little people around them started chatting excitedly, full of what just happen. Someone was crying, but Cisco didn't feel the need to identify them. They were more interesting matters on hand.

"I mean… she obviously knows what she's doing…"

"_Doprdele," _Vera hissed under her breath and another text beeped in the scarily quiet space.

"Yep," Terri accented the P.

Team Flash was not following. Vera muttered something else, something Cisco couldn't make out, but it was followed by another text.

And then the cops stormed in.

-.-.-  
Notes:  
The policemen of Hell's Kitchen are late again. Terri had a vision. Vera kicked ass. Just the average Damned stuff ;) Who could be texting? :D

Btw, I read Generation of Vipers, which is an official book written by some members of the crew of Arrow and The Flash. It's a kinda cool crossover, so if you're into this thing… it's not exactly new, written in 2017, but hey… read it, it's good ;)


	3. BFF

**3\. BFF**

The police were still roaming the crime scene; a CSI examining from a short distance, several people who looked less like cops talked to the few witnesses, who looked seriously shaken. Everything marked with the infamous yellow tape, the blue and red of police cars' flashing lights still illuminating the scene.

A cop with a badge around his neck was talking to Vera and Terri – Barry, Cisco and Caitlin stayed close to them, feeling like they should. If anything, they owed to Vera; things might have get messy for them if she hadn't intervene. Cisco didn't even fight a shiver at the thought. And that was saying something, considering what they usually dealt with.

Maybe it was the fact that their opponents had powers and now, when they were confronted with a… regular criminal, things got scarily unfamiliar again.

The engineer didn't spent too much time solving the puzzle of his uneasiness though and moved to another important question that was truly bugging him. It involved a certain black-haired barista and her moves.

Eh, _moves._ Anyway.

"Okay, so I gotta ask," he blurted out to cover the embarrassment at his own thoughts. Detective Mahoney as Cisco learned from the badge),( who was interrupted in a middle of a sentence turned to him with challenging look. Cisco gulped and shifted uncomfortably, rather eyeing Vera. "Are you like special forces or something?"

Vera looked like a deer caught in headlights before she shook her head. "What? No!"

Right. Very convincing.

"That's what an agent would probably say…"

"She's not special forces," the cop backed her up, rolling his eyes and turning a page of his notebook.

"And she would have someone people would trust to back her up..."

"She's not special forces, she's just _a special kind of stupid,"_ Terri deadpanned and Vera shot her a wounded look.

The corners of Cisco's lips twitched. These girls seemed to be his kind of people. Or maybe it was just Terri. Either way, Cisco was not convinced in the slightest.

"Not wrong there," the detective sighed and Vera gasped, shocked.

"Y tu, Brett?"

"Aha! First name basis with a cop!" Cisco pointed out immediately, the wheels of his brain speeding up.

"She's a trouble magnet, she keeps meeting him," Terri waved it off, sighing as if she was actually annoyed.

"I'm pretty sure that was Muay Thai and Tae Kwan Do she-" Cisco started naming the styles he had noticed her using and exactly four people shot him a very weird look. "What? I have hobbies!"

"I think I glimpsed Kali too, I mean, it has several effective disarming techniques," Barry added, eyeing Cisco unsurely. Cisco considered; Barry was probably right.

It was hard to tell whose glare was the most concerning. The cop was obviously shocked, while Terri and Vera looked startled. And Cait seemed 100% done with them.

"I teach fit-box," the barista offered confidently. Cisco gave her an unimpressed look. _Fit-box._ Right. Not that he even knew what it meant, but it sounded as an attempt to add poor imitation of martial arts into a group fitness lesson. "And I'm taking self-defence classes! I _am_ a trouble magnet!"

"Yeah and sometimes you meet the troubles halfway, been there, done that."

"What does that mean?" the officer demanded, turning to Terri. "I need to question each of you alone..."

"_What does that mean? _That means that _Vera_," Terri strained through her teeth, "was being an idiot and traded her place with another hostage with a gun pointed at her head." Her gaze flickered to Caitlin. "No offense."

"None taken," Caitlin whispered timidly.

The detective – _Brett,_ as Vera called him earlier, looked at the woman in question tiredly. "Well, that's just great… you need to think about other people's jaws, Vera."

Vera opened her mouth and closed it, no sound coming out. "I'm pretty sure everyone's jaw is safe, Detective Sergeant."

A beep announced an incoming text. Vera blinked and looked as if she was considering something; as if the text – of which she had no idea what it could contain – reminded her of something.

"Except mine," she added then,

Another beep.

"Is that..?" the cop asked suspiciously, not even finishing the question before he got an answer.

"Probably," Vera hummed.

Beep. The detective threw his hands in the air exasperatedly.

"_Perfect._ Because this day just keeps getting better."

"Hey, no casualties! That's something, right?" Vera protested, attempting a confident smile that didn't turned out all so well.

Another incoming text.

Cisco narrowed his eyes. It was getting irritating. And frustrating, because _what?!_

"Someone would disagree. Particularly because there was a person who almost got their brains on this very floor more than voluntarily!"

"Terri! _Ew…"_ Vera complained, making a face.

But she didn't fool Cisco – because just like him, she shivered at the idea. There was a shadow of fear covering her face for a moment.

A ringtone cut the air.

"Looks like someone wants to talk to you," Terri snarked towards the other barista.

"Well, good for them. We need to give our statements first. Go ahead, Terri, you can go first, I have plenty of time."

The phone fell silent. Vera grinned shakily.

"He's not going to… like…?" Detective Mahoney made some strange motion with his head and Cisco squinted at him as he was trying to figure out what it was supposed to mean.

_Beep._

"Come on, Brett. You know he wouldn't." _Beep_. Vera's smile grew confident. "Counterproductive, I keep saying that." _Beep_.

"You know, he could stop doing something else. So you wouldn't get any stupid ideas next time."

Vera looked at Terri with horror. "He wouldn't."

"I'm just slightly concerned about the fact you're already counting on that there will be next time," the cop noted and Cisco had to mentally admit that… it was quite concerning, yeah.

Maybe they hadn't been kidding about the trouble magnet thing.

Another incoming text – and Cisco was done.

"Okay, I'll bite! Who the hell keeps texting you now? In a way that looks completely not accidental?!"

Vera turned to him, surprised. "I'm sure it's completely incidental. Pure coincidence."

Cisco's mind raced. The tone she said it with was very similar to the way she was talking to the robber. When she was talking-

_Holy mother of dragons. _

"Are you BFF with Daredevil?!" whisper-yelled excitedly, leaning to her space to bath in the light of the revelation.

"_No,_ I am most certainly _not-"_

"Oh my god, you are!" Cisco cheered, watching the girl with delighted sparks in his eyes. He was right. He was definitely right. "_Oh man, this is soooo cool! _That's how you know how to fight. Oh my god, this is awesome!"

Shocked silence fell, blank expressions appearing on both Terri's and Vera's faces. The cop seemed… well, not so surprised by Cisco's exploration.

Huh. Never mind. She was Daredevil's BFF!

"Ohhh, my day just turned fabulous. Can you get me a signature? You think he would take a photo with me?"

"Cisco-" Caitlin tried to temper his excitement a little, entering the conversation with her _serious_ _doctor_ voice.

Cisco pouted. And then Terri burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, if you could see your face! Vera, oh my god-"

The barista's face was indeed priceless. It was very red, embarrassed and gaping. Oh, now Cisco was hundred percent sure.

"Please?" he bargained and reached for her arm.

And that was a royally stupid mistake. Because the moment their bodies touched, he got a vibe.

_A man in a devil costume knocking on a window. Vera's bright smile, opening. _

_Vera rummaging through some box, bandages, needles. First aid kit. Frowning towards muscled bloody torso, cleaning, stitching up. Calloused hand with bruised knuckles squeezing her wrist gently when she's finished._

_A dark-haired man, bare scarred back, pressing the girl against a wall, her fingers in his hair, pulling him close as she was exposing her neck to his lips-_

Cisco blinked as the sharp light hit him, Vera's frowning face in front of him.

_HOLY MOTHER OF DRAGONS_ since when he was getting porn vibes?!

And she was definitely _not _Daredevil's BFF, more like BFB if it stood for Best Friends with Benefits. But what did he know? She might even be _engaged to him_. Or maybe it was the past? The future? He really hated his powers— well, he hated he didn't understand them. Life would be much easier if the visions he was occasionally getting were making a freaking sense.

But now, he couldn't get the picture of her being pinned against the wall out of his head. It was _burned to his retina_. And he realized he was still gripping her arm. He quickly let go.

"Cisco, buddy, you okay? That star-struck, huh?" Barry teased him, hint of worry in his voice. He _knew_ Cisco just vibed. But he didn't know what and not in a million years he would have figured it out, that was for sure.

"Sorry," he mumbled absently, shaking his head and taking a step back. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Cisco's eyes flickered towards the girl as she asked him worriedly, as if she didn't have a broken wrist herself. His face went bright red when all he could see was her eyelashes fluttering as the man from his vision showed her his ministrations.

He just nodded, his throat too tight as he was supressing the squeak that was drawn to his lips.

Terri cleared her throat. "I hope you were kidding when you said you knew a defense attorney who would defend him."

"What? He _might._ You know he's got a soft spot for lost causes and all that," Vera protested, apparently grateful for the change in topic.

"Okay, I hear you, but I honestly doubt he would take a case of someone who threatened to shoot you. That would be too much even for him."

Vera reconsidered. "You're probably right. And I sprained— _broke_ my wrist punching him, so…"

"I actually wouldn't be surprised if he switched sides and became a prosecutor for once-" Vera's lips curled up in a smile that looked too victorious. Terri noticed. "Stop deflecting! We were talking about you being stupid!"

"Hey, you started it," Vera laughed nervously, raising her hands in a no-harm gesture. She grimaced as she moved her hand so carelessly.

"Put some ice on, you dope. We'll talk about this later. But we will."

Maybe it was just Cisco's imagination, but the black-haired girl actually seemed a bit terrified. To be honest, Cisco didn't quite blame her. He suspected that sometimes, Terri's name was just an abbreviation for terrifying.

-.-.-.-  
Notes:  
School's been kicking my arse, but here we go :))

Anyway, I'm having fun. Season 1 and 2 Cisco was just sooo amazing and hilarious, sweet innocent baby, and I miss him like crazy :(

Hope you're having at least a bit of fun too – let me know, please. In any way.

Chapter for your thoughts? :D


	4. not BFF?

**4\. …not BFF?**

For all Vera looking like a total badass with no fear during the fight, it seemed she was gradually realizing what had happened here. By the time she giving her statement, she was really pale, shaking. The black officer she was friends with offered her a ride to _and_ from a hospital and asked her at least twice if she was afraid of '_him'._ They were talking rather lowly, but Cisco was laser focused on them.

His theory about Vera and the vigilante being friends – possibly with benefits – was getting less and less likely. He was getting vibes – well, not _vibes_ vibes, but simply vibes – of an abusive relationship and it made him stupidly angry. She seemed like a really nice girl with spunk. Which could possibly be how she had got involved with the Devil in first place and then got over her head.

Cisco hated he couldn't tell the time frame of his vibes – the pictures he saw could be completely unrelated, months apart. She could have been happy to see him, stich him up and then being… close to him months after that and all of that could have been a while ago. Maybe she wanted out and he didn't like it and now he would be pissed at her for endangering her life and wanted to punish her for it, hurt her, no matter how illogical it seemed. The outlook of being beat up by Daredevil was sure a good reason to be a mess she was gradually changing into.

"Cisco!" Caitlin hissed and he blinked, snapping his head to her.

"What?"

"Stop staring at her!"

"I— I can't help it. She looks terrified. I- I think she's afraid of him. The vigilante."

"Just few moments ago you thought they were BFF."

"Maybe they used to. I don't know. Look at her!"

"Well, she had a gun at her head. Maybe the adrenalin is wearing off."

"…_let me through-"_ someone demanded rather loudly, a male voice with icy edge, and Cisco automatically turned towards that sound – only to witness some guy struggling to get through the cops at the entrance of the café. He wore round red glasses, so Cisco couldn't see his eyes, but the rest of his face was in angry and honestly a little desperate grimace. Also, was that a cane in his hand?

"Larkin, let him through," the detective, 'Brett' apparently, barked over his shoulder, making Vera jump.

"But this is an active crime scene-"

"_For God's sake,_ just let him in."

The red-glasses-man smirked for only a fraction of second and tapped his way – yep, he was blind – to his salvation in a shape of the black cop.

Vera fumbled to her feet.

"Thanks, Brett," the blind man breathed, turning his head to the sound of chair scraping against the floor, slightly opening his arms. Vera fell into them, face burying to his chest and he immediately enclosed her in a gentle embrace, kissing the top of her head.

Alright, that was probably the moment Cisco actually _should_ look away. So he did. Only to find Barry staring at them, mouth hanging open. Cisco glanced back at them, at Barry, at them, at Barry and raised his eyebrow. Why was Barry staring?

"I can't believe this," Barry whispered, amazed. Cisco was lost. What was he missing? "Matthew Murdock."

Cisco would swear the man winced at the name, despite Barry's low voice. Cisco squinted at the guy. Should the name ring a bell?

"Should I know who that is?"

"He's a lawyer! He's one of the guys who collared Wilson Fisk! They managed to somehow get detective Hoffman, who was part of the corruption, to testify against Fisk and _then_ the evidence started to pop up. It was brilliant."

Cisco felt literal light bulb lighting up above his head. Fisk, that was a name he knew. "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen collared Fisk."

"Yeah, when he was escaping the custody _this guy_ put him in."

Cisco examined the pair of lovers – _lovers? –_ standing in a tight hug. He didn't really have time to check him out properly, but right now he looked like a total marshmallow, talking quietly into Vera's hair, stroking her back.

"This guy?"

"Don't an ableist, Cisco," Caitlin admonished him. Cisco frowned. What?

"What? No! I mean, look at him. He's a total cutie-pie."

The man's hand froze on Vera's back. Jesus, he had what, bat ears? Well, they _did_ say that when you lose one sense, the others compensate. It definitely hadn't work like that with Barry though; Barry had been a total disaster when blinded by Doctor Light.

However, _Matt Murdock_ proved him right when he carefully reached for Vera's cheek and kissed her lightly on her lips. Damn, that guy was a lucky bastard. Cisco subtly beckoned their direction, mouthing '_see?'_.

"Well, he kicked ass, that's all I'm saying."

"Oookay, you two. I'll give my statement and you won't do anything crazy like asking for autographs and photos, okay?"

"But, Cait!" they both whined simultaneously and she shot them a stern look.

"She has no heart."

"I beg to differ, she seems nice," female voice sounded on Cisco's side, making him jump and his hand shot to his heart.

"_Jesus."_

"Sorry. Want some coffee? Never got to finish your order," Terri offered cheerfully and Cisco had to admit that caffeine and sugar sounded like heaven right now.

"God, yes, please. Barry?"

"Absolutely."

"So, you guys are from around here?"

The cops were slowly cleaning up the space, the CSI finishing his work – Barry interjected occasionally, the workaholic – and there were no customers yet. Terri sat with them, making coffee for herself too, preparing one for Caitlin as well. All on the house. Which was really sweet.

"Nope. Vacation," Cisco answered, returning her smile. He was right about her – she was friendly, the kind of a person that was a pleasure to be around. The crazy orange hair helped.

"Oh, right. Guess you're discovering New York with all its perks…" she muttered darkly.

"Apparently. We arrived early in the morning. _Someone_ insisted on signing at a hotel in this neighbourhood," Barry prodded and Cisco rolled his eyes.

"Tell me you're bored, Allen. I dare you."

"Allen?" Terri questioned.

Cisco realized they never introduced themselves. Which was kinda shitty thing to do, considering they were drinking free coffee now.

"Barry. Barry Allen," his friend offered, extending his hand. Terri shook it with a smile.

"Terri Gratton. Nice to meet you, Barry."

"Cisco Ramon. Pleasure to meet you."

When their hands touched, he got no vibe. He wondered if it was because he was like… exhausted from before or simply there was nothing to vibe. He really didn't understand his powers.

"Likewise. So why did you insist on lodging here? Please, tell me it wasn't because you're a fanboy," she teased him lightly and Cisco's neck went red immediately. "Oh, jeeez. Okay. Hint? Daredevil? Not exactly good with his fans. Or, you know, _people."_

"Really? I read the grateful notes. He seems nice enough."

Terri made a face. "Yeah, to the injured victims of a _crime_. Not to people sniffing around."

"Well, now I am a victim of a crime. Technically," Cisco protested, grinning.

Barry snorted.

"You look just fine, Cisco. Are you guys with the police? I noticed Barry had some pointers to the CSI earlier…?" she wanted to know, probing, not necessarily invasive, more like curious.

"I'm a CSI myself, so…"

"I see," she nodded, sipping her coffee. "You?"

"Consultant, sometimes. I like making toys."

"Toys?"

"I'm an engineer," he explained evasively, realizing they probably shouldn't go into details too much, explain what kind of toys and why. Metahumans and stuff tent to freak people out. Then again, this was New York. An _alien invasion _happened here_._

"Oh."

A hand appeared on her shoulder. Vera.

"Hey, Ter. Going to the hospital, Mrs. Walker let me go. You'll be okay here?" she asked with a light smile, the hugging session obviously helping her psyche.

Terri gave her unimpressed look. "See any customers here, Mechy? We'll be fine. You have a broken wrist, I think you're entitled to go. Jeez."

"Thanks, Ter. I would say 'see you guys around', but I guess I won't after today's experience, huh?" She looked up to them, crinkling her nose.

"Oh, you will. Especially if we get another free coffee out it. Felicity wasn't kidding. This thing is heaven."

Vera's eyes went wide. "Felicity?" she blurted out, baffled.

"Oh, yeah. A friend. She recommended. Why?" Barry queried, sensing something fishy about her reaction.

"Oh, just curious. Interesting name is all," she explained with a quick smile Cisco didn't believe. "Always happy to hear people are referring to us in a good way."

Cisco hummed, examining her. She was… startled?

"Anyway. Gotta go. Broken bones and stuff. See you, Terri." And she literally ran off, joining Matthew Murdock, who was waiting for her at the door, head tilted, looking hyper-alert. Was it possible he was trying to eavesdrop?

"Hey, Gratton, we're leaving. You remember anything else, stop by or call, okay?" The detective proclaimed, saluting with two wingers and Terri rewarded him with smile.

"Will do, Detective Sergeant."

"And for god's sake, try to keep an eye on Machackova, would you?"

Teri rolled her eyes. "You're saying it like if it was actually possible. I'm sure Matt will."

The cop snorted. "You're hilarious."

"I know."

"Did she just make a blind joke?" Barry hissed incredulously as Caitlin joined their table.

"Yep. I gotta go back to work. It was nice to meet you all," Terri offered, rising to her feet. "Need anything, let me know."

The moment she slipped behind the counter, Cisco turned to Barry. "I smell something suspicious here."

"Totally," Barry agreed, nodding.

"You noticed her reaction to Felicity's name, right? And the stuff she could do? Self-defense classes? Really?"

"Dating a guy, who put away Fisk, the criminal mastermind caught by the Devil?"

"Not to mention Terri obviously wanted to send her away like seconds before the robbery went down. And the way she talked about Daredevil? She _so_ knows him."

"No! Guys, we're on a vacation! The whole point of visiting New York was to escape the troubles!" Caitlin complained, watching them with pleading look. "Stop raking over the girl who saved me from a bullet!"

"Sorry, Cait. Are you okay?" Barry hurried, stroking her arm, while Cisco's mind continued racing.

"I'm fine. And you're fine too. Can't we just let it go?"

Cisco pouted. "We're not looking for troubles, they found us first!"

"Ciscoooo," Caitlin groaned, throwing her head back.

"I saw her stitching up Daredevil," he dropped the bombshell and Barry, who was giving in to Caitlin's protests, sat up straighter immediately, his curiosity spiking. _"And_ saw them making out too, it was quite intense, so-"

"Noooo way. Was that what you vibed?"

"_Ew,_ since when do you vibe people making out?" Caitlin grunted.

"I know, right?! It sucks I don't know the time frame, because I think we can safely tell she's dating the blind guy-"

"His name is Matthew Murdock-"

"Yeah, yeah, don't be an ableist, gotcha. Obviously she's engaged to him. And he has a connection to Daredevil. So what, they traded her? Or she's with both?" Cisco let his imagination run free until Caitlin smacked his arm.

"Cisco!"

"What? I can't help what I see!"

"Yeah, but don't need to probe someone's love life!"

"Okay. Point taken. But, we're not letting this go. This cannot be a coincidence."

"I'm going to strangle Felicity for recommending this café," Caitlin muttered under her breath, but didn't protest further when Cisco pulled out his tablet. He could feel Barry's radiating grin.

"Bring it on, Vibe."


	5. Burned

**5\. Burned**

Barry was tailing Terri, while Caitlin and Cisco returned to the hotel. They wrote down all ideas and leads, using the floor instead or their glassy board in STAR Labs. It was… not what they were used to. They had never realized how comfortable their space was and how fond of all the toys they had had grown. At least the passion for solving mysteries had followed them to New York.

"This is a terrible work ethic," Caitlin hummed and Cisco rolled his eyes, not admitting out loud that he completely agreed. Oh god, he missed his chair and… he really needed something to chew. Why didn't they stop by for something sweet? His brain needed sugar, dammit.

And he needed Felicity too, but she hadn't been picking up her phone earlier. He tried again. To his surprise, he got lucky this time.

"Hey, Cisco. Is everything alright?" Felicity sounded worried, immediately assuming something must have gone wrong.

Cisco flashed Caitlin an excited grin, putting the other woman on speaker while he seated himself in an armchair. "Everything's perfect. I have a question."

"Uhm. Okay? Is it about a meta? I thought you guys were in New York…?"

"That we are. We stopped by the café – you were right, I think their caramel latté actually beats Jitters' one."

Caitlin let out a silent giggle at Cisco's note. It was uncharacteristic of her, but Cisco's smile only grew at that. They all had had a rough couple of months – it was great to see her happy.

"Right?! So amazing…"

"Baristas are cool too. They can kick ass, apparently."

"What?" Felicity blurted out, taken aback. Cisco smirked. _Busted_. She soooo know something.

"Oh, funny story, there was a robbery-"

"What?! Are you guys okay? When?" Furious typing on a keyboard could be heard and Cisco was sure Felicity was already looking for a security footage. And she apparently found it, because she burst out in a second. "Oh my god, Caitlin, are you alright?!"

"Yes, Felicity, I'm fine. Thanks," the doctor assured her gently, a fond smile on her lips. Caitlin wouldn't admit it, but it was nice to talk to another woman. Iris was okay, nice too, but Felicity… Caitlin had a different kind of understanding with her.

"Oh. I can't get the sound. What happened there? …Holy-"

"Right?!" Cisco interjected, unable to keep the thrill from soaking into his voice. "Vera can totally kick ass. We might have mentioned that you, Felicity, sent us to the café. Her reaction was really strange…"

There was a short silence on the other end of the line and Cisco felt the well-known satisfaction of being right lighting up every cell in his body.

"Oh. Yeah… we— she was- uhm, nice," Felicity stuttered, clearly ncomfortable. "We were fighting with Oliver a little, she- well, I don't know, she was _nice_, I think she was mocking Oliver..."

"More spunk than I thought then," Cisco hummed, exchanging a surprised glance with Caitlin, who seemed equally taken aback. "Did you know she was dating Daredevil?"

"What? No— I mean-" Felicity cleared her throat awkwardly. "Who's Daredevil?"

"Aww, come on, Felicity. You know who I'm talking about. Don't tell me you went to Hell's Kitchen with no research. I'm not buying that."

"Okay, fine. You mean _that_ guy. He was called the Devil of Hell's Kitchen at the time."

"Hm… now this is interesting. Rumour has it there was some really weird thing happening recently, a building went kaboom. Daredevil was involved and apparently, there were two archers at the scene. One of them wore Oliver's outfit and the other had Roy's. Funny coincidence."

Silent curses filled the room. _"Damn you, Ramon."_

"Who's the best hacker in the world?" Cisco mocked her, indulging the victory.

"Felicity Smoak." "Me."

"Come on!" he complained as both of the women discouraged him.

"You did zero hacking with this. You used Google," Felicity accused him and Cisco could literally see her rolling her yes. The corners of Caitlin's lips twitched.

"How would you know?!"

This time Caitlin cleared her throat, tactfully breaking the pointless argument. "Okay, guys. Back on track?"

_Screw you, you just teamed up on me,_ Cisco thought and patted his ego on its head comfortingly. _Women._

"Yeah. So? Care to share?"

"Oliver happened to crash at her window when he got hurt and the comms gave out. She lent him her phone and stitched him up."

Oh. _Oh_. Wow.

"Like she's stitching up Daredevil?" Cisco queried and both him and Caitlin awaited the answer impatiently, eager to get another confirmation.

"Obviously. He wasn't around at the time. She figured out Oliver's identity within the two days we spent there."

Cisco eyed his friend with a raised eyebrow. And that was definitely Caitlin's impressed face.

"Smart. With spunk. Cute smile. Kicks ass. Of course she's taken."

"Engaged if I'm seeing it right. Don't get any ideas. Hands off," Felicity warned him and Cisco felt a blush creeping up his neck.

A playful grin appeared on Caitlin's lips and she approached him, patting his shoulder patronizingly. Cisco rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming.

"Yeaaah, Barry might have mentioned it when Cisco here hit on her."

_Yeah, sure, mock my pain, Snow._

"Aww, Cisco, you loveable dummy."

"Shut up."

Both women giggled; the sound was interrupted by a key rattling in the lock of their room and then Barry stumbled in.

"Okay, I dismiss the operation!" he blurted out, sounding breathless. Cisco eyed him from head to toe, while Caitlin went full physician and hurried to examine him from closer distance.

"What? Why?" Cisco complained, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Oh, I don't know?! Maybe because he knows every word we said in the café, he can tell my heart is too fast to count the beats and he heard you talking about your powers too?! And I'm in no mood to fight a ninja?!"

"WHAT?! What are you trying to do there?" Felicity exploded over the phone. _"Jesus,_ guys!"

"Oh, hey, Felicity-"

"Don't you '_hey Felicity'_ me," the blonde cut Barry off angrily.

"Anyway, stop deflecting," Cisco protested, trying to return to the point. "You said she figured out Arrow's identity. That doesn't explain why you were in New York again, seen with Daredevil."

"Wait, she knows Daredevil?!" Barry asked, baffled. "Felicity, you know-"

"Yeah. Apparently, they are besties," Cisco added, enjoying the shock on Barry's face.

"We're not _besties_. I barely even met him. Oliver saved his life though, pulled him out before that building collapsed on him."

"_What?"_ sounded unison from the team Flash and Cisco shook his head, continuing his investigation. "Okay. So what, Vera knew DD was in trouble and called you for help?"

"Yep. Pretty much."

"Okay, this is really messed up," Barry stated, raising his hands in surrender, obviously trying to wrap his head around this. "How does her fiancé fit into this?"

"What do you mean?" Felicity sounded like she was frowning.

"Matthew Murdock. The lawyer. Her fiancé, right?" Caitlin explained.

"Oh. Right. That's— I gotta go. Bye!"

"Feli— she hung up on us!" Cisco complained, his voice incredulous. His gaze flickered between Barry and Caitlin. They just shrugged helplessly and Cait went to truly check up on the speedster, inspecting him with her attentive brown eyes.

"Barry, are you okay? What happened?"

"He caught me in an alley. Wanted us to stop digging around."

"Does he know that people are usually more eager to dig around after they are told that…?" Cisco couldn't help but snark.

"I dunno. I think he might have a point. What's in it for us? Cait, I'm fine, thank you-"

"Did he whammy you?" Cisco blurted out, incredulous. Why did he want to let it go all of sudden? Had DD really been that intense and intimidating? Barry was not a person to easily get scared.

"No. But he's scary, okay? I didn't want to give away my powers, but he could tell things anyway. It was creepy," Barry explained and visibly shivered. Caitlin was still examining him worriedly. He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

For a second, Cisco was hit by a Snowbarry vibe, but he quickly shook it off. It was a) insensitive to Ronnie, god rest his soul, b) a bit unfair to Jay, but Barry had been there for her first, c) probably a lost case, because Barry seemed to have a thing with his colleague, that Patty woman and d) not relevant right now. Then again-

_Focus, Ramon._

"Now I _really_ want to figure it out."

"Cisco! He could have hurt him!" Caitlin called out exasperatedly.

Cisco sighed. They loved each other so much… _Snowbarry._

"I think it's getting better. Look." Before Barry finished the sentence, he was on the other side of the room in a split second.

"Cool," Cisco called out, excited and happy for his friend.

"But I don't think we should continue this. I wouldn't want people to sniff around me either," Barry offered in a conciliatory manner then and Caitlin gave him an approving smile.

Cisco sighed again, this time at his disgustingly responsible friends, and folded his arms on his chest. He silently decided to be grumpy for the rest of their visit.

"…fine. Let's have a boring stay and visit the Empire State."

His grumpiness lasted for about an hour, before they gathered on a couch and put on a movie. He passed out within the first thirty minutes, waking up in one of the beds, not even knowing how he had got there. But waking up on his own without an intrusive alarm or a STAR Labs alarm was blissful.

If they were having a vacation without investigating vigilantes, he could still enjoy it just fine. He examined the room with only one eye open, finding Caitlin on her bed with a book in her hand. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her with a book. She seemed so relaxed that it brought a smile to his face and he stretched his arms with a yawn.

"Morning, Doctor Snow."

Caitlin returned the smile. "Morning, Mr. Ramon."

Barry was the last one to wake up and it was only because of the squeaky door to the bathroom. Still, he seemed rested, his mind obviously at peace now when he got at least part of his powers back if not all of them.

"Well, I'm ready to explore New York like an actual tourist," the speedster announced, exiting the bathroom with a bright smile. "Who's with me?"

"I think we all are," Cisco chuckled, rising to his feet and heading to the door. "I was thinking breakfast and then the Empire State, since it's a classic, but _then_ we are at least getting to the Avengers Tower, because I need to see the beauty up close."

Caitlin chuckled and gave a good-hearted eye-roll as Cisco opened the door – only for the trio to freeze in the doorway.

There was a man about to knock, panting, his face flushed as if he had just finished a marathon.

"I need your help."

"Mr. – Mr. Murdock?" Caitlin addressed him, her face pure shock despite her gentle voice. She immediately switched to the mode of the caretaker when she noticed his state.

"Vera's gone."

Cisco blinked in surprise, letting the statement sink in, resisting the urge to pinch himself.

This was happening. A blind lawyer had somehow found his way to their room, obviously run – what the hell? – and now he was asking for their help.

Why would he be asking for _their_ help if his fiancé was… gone? He couldn't possibly have any idea about their activities. Right?

"Uhm-"

Mr. Murdock leaned onto the doorframe with one hand, supporting himself as he continued to fight for some oxygen. Cisco instinctively made a space for him to lean in a little.

"I need you to help me find her. You can see things, right?"

The trio of friends froze, watching the man in horror. Cisco would swear his heart just stopped, his mind one huge question and exclamation mark. It didn't help that the lawyer seemed to face Cisco directly as if knew where he was standing and as if he somehow _knew_ Cisco was the one to get visions.

"I'm— I'm not sure-" he stuttered, eyeing his friends in a desperate plea for help.

"_Vibe_ them?" Murdock sounded on verge of desperation and Cisco just couldn't keep his panic on leash.

_What the actual fuck?_ How did he know?! Did they like… share info in their weird polyamory thing with Daredevil or what?

"What-"

The man reached for Cisco's shoulder to plead, but the moment he touched him, Cisco's world caught fire.

His vision went blurry the way it had when seeing something not physically in front of him. Tha much was normal. But then…

His ears were assaulted by a cacophony of noises, the world switching off the light and turning on a strange bloody lightning. It was swimming behind his eyelids. His nostrils were hit by thousands of smells, too mixed up to isolate and recognize a single one of them, and his skin suddenly felt like being scratched in too many places. What felt like a gust of wind brushed his cheek, warm and wet, something pounding in his temples. People were screaming and whispering, heat and cold biting into his skin, drilling into his bones and his head spun and spun and spun-

Until it didn't.

He gasped for air violently as he was pulled out of the hell, and he blinked his eyes open, only to be welcomed by the dark spots dancing in front of his eyes. He instinctively reached out as his legs didn't seem to have enough strength to carry the rest of his body.

Red glasses appeared in his field of vision, on a face of the man who somehow caused the hellish vision. Cisco had troubles to find his voice, but when he did…

"HOLY HELL, _what_ was that?!" he complained loudly, or maybe silently, he wasn't sure of anything anymore. His ears still hurt a little from the terrible noise before.

"What did you do to him?" Barry stepped in front of Cisco protectively. Cisco couldn't tell he minded.

"What did you see?" Caitlin's fingers wrapped around Cisco's wrist and while anyone else could count that as a caring gesture, he knew better – she was checking his pulse.

The lawyer actually seemed guilty, gulping. It mollified Cisco a little. Apparently, it wasn't like Mr. Murdock attempted to put Cisco through _that_, whatever it had been.

"Whoa, I feel like I have a very weird hangover," the engineer stated, finally feeling a bit steadier. "What the fuck?"

"You saw something?" Murdock breathed out, his voice full of hope.

"Yeah, the world burning!" Cisco cried out exasperatedly. "And screaming. And _stinking_. And- _Jesus."_

There was a slight pause as Barry and Caitlin looked at Cisco in surprise and with compassion. Murdock just seemed sheepish and... shocked.

"That's… that's how I see the world. The… the world on fire."

"What? 'See'? What do you mean?" Barry questioned, his eyebrows shooting to his hairline; and that was impressive with how high he combed his hair, okay.

The lawyer licked his lips, seemingly impatient. "I can't believe you still didn't figure it out. There aren't two people _making out_ with Vera, just one."

It only took one beat of Cisco's heart to come to the clearest conclusion ever. And the most awesome one too. "You're Daredevil."

"Yes. And the man both me and my alter ego put behind bars is free and I believe he took her."

Cisco was very quick in accepting that. It was actually making a lot of sense. Except that this guy was blind, but hey, weirder things had happened. Cisco's mystery radar lighted up, sending a spark of excitement through his veins.

"Now there goes the vacation we asked for-"

"Wait, hold on a second, what do you mean you're Daredevil? You're blind!"

"Compensation," Caitlin breathed out, astonished. Barry eyed her, not following. So much for the fastest man alive… "Cisco said what he saw— _sensed_ was loud and overwhelming. Your other senses are enhanced."

"Yes," Murdock urged, leaning in even further. "But I can't hear her. I _know_ her heartbeat, her voice, the sound of her necklace, _everything,_ and I just can't. I'm— _please_. You're fast, aren't you?" he turned to Barry, who just jumped in alarm. "I have friends, but none of them is available now and none of them can… _vibe_ things, people."

Cisco gulped, the delight he had felt gone instantly. This was no fun. A woman had been kidnapped. And Daredevil himself was desperate enough to come for their help. And they had nothing to offer.

Well, _hell._

"Well, I can't either. Not on command. It just happens. Sometimes when I touch something that's theirs, or… I dunno-"

"I can take you to our apartment," Murdock – _Daredevil _blurted out eagerly, his voice dripping with hope. "There is plenty of her stuff."

Before Cisco could react, a mechanical voice creaked "Ve-" and Matt picked up his phone so fast that even Barry seemed impressed.

"Vera?" he breathed to the phone, his face expectant.

"_Good morning, Mr. Murdock,"_ a male voice grunted on the other end of the line loud enough for all of them to hear. "_How is your day going so far?"_

Daredevil's face turned from unhealthy red to a scary white within a second. And the single word that the man chocked out sent an icy shiver down Cisco's spine.

"Fisk."


	6. Cold and sharp as ice

_Change in the point of view for a while so you can enjoy it all. _

_Graphic description of violence here. Fair warning. Also, F-bombs, but I guess that's not that bad; see the first line :D_

**-.-.-**

**6\. Cold and sharp as ice**

**-.-.- Vera -.-.-**

Vera fucking hated her life.

Now that was not true – ever since she had moved to New York City's Hell's Kitchen and met Matt, things had got a bit more complicated, but also kinda wonderful. Matt was an amazing man, in so many ways, standing for what he believed in, _fighting for it_, his heart staying incredibly big and very much carried on his sleeve, loving and simply amazing, but… dating a vigilante had several downsides.

If nothing else, there were the nights when she worried about him, causing her sleeping schedule to be shit. That went hand to hand with her playing a half-doctor half-nurse despite leaving med school after only two successfully finished years.

And then there was a little potential threat of someone targeting her for her fraternization with him, thought it had nothing to do with whom she dated; that was simply because of the stupid trial against a corrupted cop that had once kidnapped her, because he had been convinced she was the besties with Daredevil.

Then again, maybe _this_ had _everything_ to do with whom she dated, because Wilson fucking Fisk was as much of an enemy of Daredevil as of the lawyer who had put him behind bars and who had just happened to propose Vera few months ago.

Yeah, dating Matt Murdock was a freaking walk in the park. Except the moments when she was tied to a heavy chair with plastic cable ties so tightly it was cutting into her flesh with the tinniest movement – with one wrist still broken, not that they had left the splint in place – , sitting at a table in a scary cold room, while the kingpin was sitting against her, enjoying a fucking omelette; the set of the table was incredibly festive and it looked like some sort of a sick ritual.

And hell if Vera didn't know a lot about rituals and sick shit.

Wilson Fisk delicately wiped his lips with a napkin as he finished his meal, giving Vera a crooked smile that made her rapidly beating heart stop. She swallowed loudly as he rose to his feet, the squeak of the chair sounding way too ominous.

One of forgettable minions standing nearby immediately took the plate and silverware as the big figure moved closer to Vera.

"I hope you're comfortable, Ms. Macháčková. You're going to be here for a while. You and I have a lot to talk about," he addressed her for the first time ever since she had woken up – after someone had fucking jumped her while she had been peacefully walking to work, ready to serve customers with a smile.

Yeah, that plan went well.

A shiver ran down her spine at his formal voice. He sounded like a businessman about to strike the deal of lifetime, about to earn a disgusting sum of money. For some reason, Vera didn't think he cared about money anymore – he had enough. Or didn't, she wasn't sure how the whole propriety of a convicted man worked, she had never needed to know.

She had a _'fuck you'_ on her tongue at his remark, but somehow words died in her throat, a lump of gagging fear replacing her vocal cords.

She had heard enough stories about the man. And even if she wouldn't have, he had still got her kidnapped and he was fucking huge. Just him hovering above her was a terrifying picture. All she could do was to stare at him, the lump in her throat growing.

"I assume that's a yes."

Another minion approached him and Fisk held out his hand palm up. A knife was delicately placed onto it.

For one short second, a ridiculous thought of the man wanting to cut the straps keeping Vera tied to the chair crossed her mind. The very next second her teeth almost clattered in fright, because it was clear that if anything was about to be cut, it was _her_.

It was not a pleasant picture her mind was painting. So the answer to Fisk's question would a big loud 'no', because she was very much _not_ comfortable. She didn't have the courage to say it though.

"Why am I here?" she whispered, her voice unfairly shaky.

His smile widened.

"Good. I was beginning to fear you've lost your voice. Unfortunately for you, you are not the one who will be posing questions. On contrary…" and he placed the knife on the table, right in front of Vera, and seating himself so close to her their knees almost brushed, "you will provide me answers."

He fucking barely fit into that chair. Vera was sure that if he grabbed her wrist, he would snap it without any effort. He could probably break her finger just flicking it. She instinctively curled her hands into fists, the straps cutting into her skin, her broken scaphoid protesting.

"What-" she cleared her throat to get rid of the raspy note in her question, "what makes you think I have the answers you're looking for?"

Vera pretended her voice wasn't trembling, just like her jaw was perfectly steady and not shaking either. She fooled no one.

"Because they are very simple, Veronika."

Vera wanted to puke at the sound of her name on his lips. She looked away.

"But… if you won't answer them, there will be consequences."

Vera didn't need to see him beckoning towards the knife. It was pretty clear, really. She was fucking doomed. She had no idea what part of the day it was, where she was, how long it had been since she had been abducted, but something told her Matt was not about to come any time soon. Or any kind of rescue, really. Even when there apparently were speedsters and psychics in town or whatever Matt had called the peculiar group of friends that had arrived to the café only to be pulled into a robbery.

"W-what… what do you want to know?"

Vera wasn't stupid okay. She knew when she was in some serious shit. And this was it. If there was any way to cooperate, she would take it. She didn't like the idea of becoming Wilson Fisk's personal Jack-o'-lantern to carve. A bile rise to the throat at the sick analogy her brain came up with.

"Well. Let's start with the truly simplest one. Concerning a very close friends of yours-" Was he fucking talking about Terri? How— why- "-the Devil of Hell's Kitchen."

Well. Shit. That made more sense.

She definitely should have seen that coming. She bit the inside of her cheek, inhaling deeply through her nose to gather some courage to look up at Fisk and lie to his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not friends with him."

That technically wasn't even a lie. She was so much more than friends with Matt…

Discontent grunt sounded from the large man, his eyebrow furrowing in what seemed to be concern. Vera didn't believe it for a second, escaping his piercing eyes.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear earlier," he stated calmly, reaching for the knife. Vera's breath hitched in fright. He picked up on it, but didn't comment and silently raised the steak knife.

_Come on, come on, don't do this-_

He brought it to her forearm, the tip of the blade lightly dancing on the skin. She curled into herself, trying to pull her arm away, but she stood no chance.

"Would you like to reconsider your answer?" he asked, sounding honestly curious. Very squeezed her eyes shut. "I would hate to hurt you. I am not a violent man."

_Tell that to all the people you had had murdered._

"I- I— I'm not-"

Sharp pain jolted from her forearm as the blade dug into her flesh and she couldn't help but let out a short scream of surprise, her eyelids pressed together closer.

The pain dulled then, an empty pulsing as she felt a hot liquid tickling her oversensitive skin around the wound. Tears welled up in her eyes, yet she refused to open them and let him see.

_Fuck you._

"Mm… what a shame. Perhaps if I give you some clues, you'll remember…" his deep voice felt like a thunder, rattling in her bones. Her forearm started throbbing. "This should feel familiar to you. You've been taken before, been asked questions about the vigilante. Officer Collins was very outright about your encounters when he spoke to me."

Vera gasped, her eyes snapping open at the information. Fisk's confident expression was staring right back at her.

What?

How the hell— was he really talking about _that_ Collins? That jackass cop that had got her kidnapped-

"You would be surprised what comes up during a lunch. He was sure you knew Devil's identity. And after him rescuing you, beating up people who hurt you – like Bryan Nickel for example-" he continued and Vera was just becoming more and more mortified. How the fuck did Fisk know about the guy who had tried to— ignore her obvious 'no' to dating him? "-I cannot say I think he's wrong."

Vera's mind was blank. There was no single thought in it. Except one, painfully clear.

She was about to be tortured and killed. There was no other possible scenario,

"So, tell me, Veronika – I hope it is alright for me to call you that –, have you remembered yet? Or do you need further… let's say, persuasion?"

Her eyes flickered to the wound on her right forearm, bleeding nastily and she quickly looked away, nauseous. Wilson Fisk had a twisted idea of persuasion.

And Vera had maybe a little twisted idea of loyalty. Because if she was about to die – and she was confident she was –, she would do so with fucking dignity and knowing she didn't betray the trust of the man she loved. She met Fisk's gaze.

"You— you are right. We have met. He saved me-" the huge man raised his eyebrow at her formulation, "on multiple occasions. But… but that's what he does. As far as I know, there is no other motivation in his actions beyond helping people in trouble."

For the rest of her life – which was probably about to be very short –, Vera would remember Wilson Fisk's face contorted in a disappointed grimace. And it would forever be connected to the memory of a terrible pain going through her left forearm, a thick line going from her wrist almost to her elbow, her teeth gritted together, tears streaming down her face and her being angry with the fucking universe for apparently hating her.

She sobbed silently when the blade disappeared, while the agony stayed, throbbing and alternating between sharpness and dullness, cold sweat on the back of her neck, hot blood on the skin of her arm.

She couldn't open her eyes, grey spots dancing under her eyelids.

"Stubbornness is not a virtue, Veronika. But patience is. I am nothing but patient," he warned her and Vera realized in horror that he was probably right. How much time had he spent in prison? How much time he was willing to give her, how many times he would let her fall unconscious from the pain and bring her back, before he would decide it was time for her to die?

"I am not lying to you," she strained through her teeth, barely keeping herself from screaming to relieve some of her pain.

"We both know you are."

A swift movement of a knife she didn't see coming and there was a new cut opening right above her collarbone; quickly followed by the same angry red line on the very same spot on the other side. She hissed in pain, her vision getting a white edge instead of the familiar black one. She wondered if that was what the infamous light at the end of the tunnel looked like.

She thought maybe it did.

And it filled her fury, the rest of her blood boiling. Maybe it was the Devil Matt always talked about, the monster within him – perhaps it was infectious. Perhaps there was a flip-switch inside of every person that would just trigger something inside them and allowed the Devil to resurface. Or maybe it was just adrenalin. It didn't matter. It gave her strength to resist the Satan himself, who was now standing above her, his eyes narrowed.

"That must really suck for you then," she spitted out, starring into his face, suddenly twisted in anger too. "Because I'm not about to stop. And there's nothing you can do to make me tell you the truth."

As if she snapped her fingers, his rage resolved as soon as she had received her own batch of it. His features smoothened and he slowly placed the knife on the table, not caring it was bloody. He held out his hand again and the same man who had given him the knife before now handed him a white handkerchief. Fisk wiped his hands and seated himself back into his chair, watching Vera intently.

Vera's brain short-circuited. What the hell was happening?

"Like I said, I am nothing but patient, Veronika, and I have time. To be honest, not even a man like myself can resist a good challenge. Let's have a little downtime so we can both think about our next steps, shall we?"

His voice was almost kind and it made Vera's heart stop, her breath caught in her throat. She didn't want to give in to the terrible thought of him observing her until she would bleed out and she tried to reach the Devil in her that seemed to disappear as quickly as he had appeared.

"Are you thirsty? Something tells me this might take a while."

Vera gulped, her throat getting dry as if on command.

_Yeah. This might take a while._

_Matt, where are you?_


	7. I do

_Very long. Pretty violent. Quite dialogue heavy. And there's __Czech,__ a little anyway. And even less French._

_And we go back to Cisco's POV towards the very end._

_-.-.-_

**7\. I do**

Vera didn't know how much time had passed. It couldn't be long, because she was still conscious for some reason, and obviously she hadn't bled out yet.

But being face to face with Wilson Fisk, being examined by his sharp eyes in creepy silence , it apparently made the time drag so slowly it was beyond words Vera knew. It didn't help that seven of his minions joined them in the room, silent guards, not daring to utter a single word either.

Wilson Fisk knew all too well what he was doing. Vera just wished to pass out at this point, because while she was still conscious, her mind was getting fuzzy and her tongue felt like made of lead.

And then the silence was finally broken and Vera almost cried in relief.

"You know, I can really appreciate loyalty. Keeping a secret like this, rather take it to your grave than betraying someone… it's admirable. I wish I had such loyal… accompanies as you are," Fisk noted, rising from his seat again. Vera blinked her eyes fully open as hearing Fisk's voice poked the Devil in her to wake up.

"Well, you're not getting me," she mumbled, her tongue feeling awfully heavy.

"Shame. I could use some of your skills too. The way you took care of my man…"

That sentence felt like a jolt of lightening into her brain.

What was he talking about? What man? What man had Vera taken care of? Was she hallucinating? Was he actually saying something completely dif-

_No doprdele._

"Your— what are- … the man in the café-" she choked out, the realization hitting her like a train.

What. The. Hell?

"-was one of mine, yes. He should have just scared you, but he did have a permission to hurt you if he got close enough. He was obviously very incompetent for the job. I have to admit I was disappointed. I'm sure you would do better if given the same task."

Still dumbstruck by the news, Vera could barely speak. But she found just the line she wanted to say rather fast.

"Too bad you're not getting me then."

Wilson Fisk seemed confused at the statement and Vera would swear his head tilted to side a little in way too familiar gesture. Yep, totally hallucinating.

"I've already got you. And I still believe it truly would be a shame to take a life of a person with such a strong will and conviction. Tell me, Veronika," he almost pleaded, leaning closer into her space to intimidate her, perhaps. Vera wasn't sure she knew what intimidation meant anymore. "Why are you so devoted to the Devil of Hell's Kitchen? Do you love him? Do you act on those feelings? What does your soon-to-be-husband think about it?"

She only managed to respond with silence, too shocked by the turn his questions took.

"That sounds like a yes. You're bringing Mr. Murdock a lot of sorrow then. He really must care about you a lot if he's letting you to… worship another man in such way."

"I don't _worship_ him," she spitted out finally, making Fisk's face light up.

"That's true. You helped to put the scared kids missing their idol behind bars of a mental institute. Does that concern you?"

_Oh fuck you, are you trying to appeal to my consciousness now? You of all people?_

It was embarrassing though, how precisely he addressed her feelings after Liam and the others of the Devil Worshippers had got locked up. The guilt at perhaps ruining their young lives…

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Vera strained through her teeth, trying not to wince as he picked up his knife; she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She probably failed.

"How do you live with the guilt?"

"_How do you?"_ she threw back.

"Hm…. It's almost like you have blood on your hands. And you're living in a sin, unfaithful to the man you're about to marry, in his own apartment no less. Aren't you worried about your afterlife?"

Vera couldn't help it. She chuckled. A dry ironic sound, making her eyes water. Oh god, this was not happening. Could this get any more absurd?

"You talk about it like you believe there's any. What, you're religious and doing the crap you are? _Jesus…"_

"Blasphemy, Veronika," he admonished her, disapproval written all over his face. And wasn't that ironic too, those words coming out of his mouth as is he was Matt's fucking mirror? "I believe in things, yes, not necessarily in God. Do you? If you don't, how do you live with a man who goes to the church so often?"

This conversation was pointless – at least Vera didn't see any point in it. And it was scary, to be honest, because if she understood something about Wilson Fisk, it was that everything he did had a purpose. Where the fuck was this heading? Was he about to kill her now? Did he run out of the famous patience of his?

"I like to think we get along just fine."

"Mm…" he toyed with the knife in his hand absently before setting in down and reaching to the pocket of his suit jacket to pull something out. It was few papers, not too big, and if Vera could take a guess, she would say photos. She couldn't tell she was curious. But then he went over them, moving the one from the top down the pile, until he saw them all. A little smile played on his lips, a terrifying one. What was in the pictures?

"If you die… where do you think you'll go? You're not exactly a saint, endangering your whole family, lovely parents and your quite successful brother…"

He let the pictures fall onto the table, the ones from the top sliding down to reveal the others. The lighting in the room wasn't exactly perfect, but Vera immediately recognized them. They were from a Christmas office party. People laughing, one person standing out and drawing Vera's gaze to themselves like a magnet.

Smiling. Raising a glass for a toast. Making a silly face. Kissing his girlfriend on her cheek .

Petr. Vera's brother.

Her stomach rolled over, her head spinning, red spots of rage dancing in front of her eyes. Her fists clenched despite the sharp pain and she tried to jolt upright.

"Fuck you, you fuck— don't you _dare-"_ she hissed, her voice dripping threat way too pathetic since she was tied up to a fucking chair surrounded by eight men, at least eight of them armed.

But she didn't care.

She also knew those were from the company's website only – but once again, she didn't care.

He was threating her brother. Her _brother_, who had nothing to do with her fucking choices and who had his life to live, a happy life with no clouds on the horizon. She pierced Fisk with her eyes, tears stinging in them – or maybe it was just her contacts protesting.

His face was scarily calm and emotionless.

"I was thinking about hurting your family too. So you could die with the thought of you killing them with your recklessness. These are from his company's website, but… you know Veronika, you could easily kill your family by falling for the wrong men. And that is a thing for which you should stay at least six feet under, don't you think? But then again… you're keeping a secret, trying to protect a man, no doubt willing to die for it. Martyr's death might provide you a ticket to heaven after all…"

Vera was sure the whole fucking American continent must have heard the weight falling from her shoulders when he practically assured her he wouldn't hurt Petr, potentially her parents. She closed her eyes, letting some air into her burning lungs, feeling her heart beating again.

"Well, you seem to think I fell for the Devil, I'm sure that's pretty damning. Guess I'm going to hell," she whispered, unable to keep the relief from creeping into her voice.

"You're only partly right, Veronika. For the Devil, yes… but I don't think you fell for him. Who have you been before? Just a little girl, dropping out of college, extremely boring. But now, look at you. Devotion. Strength. Grace," he emphasized each of the words and if Vera didn't new better, she would think he truly admired her. "You didn't fall for the Devil, Veronika, you _rose_ for him. Which is why I cannot decide whether you belong to hell or somewhere else."

"Well, me neither. What I _do_ believe, is that my afterlife is none of your concern," she muttered, not knowing where the boldness came from. It wasn't like he couldn't change his mind about hurting her family. Perhaps some sort of a sixth sense told her that it just wasn't his intention and he didn't like changing his plans.

"Quite the opposite, Veronika. And it's the 'after' that is particularly important. I wonder about Mr. Murdock's reaction. How do you think he'll feel about you losing your life? What will it be like for him, identifying your corpse? Should I shot you in the head? Make it a little messy, harder for him to feel your face? That is what blind people do, isn't it?"

The short moment of relief she had been allowed to have disappeared at instant. She wanted to puke at the picture he just painted for her, her body getting numb. Her lips though, they acted on their own.

"_You sick son of a bitch. _You sick, sick son of a bitch. You dickhead, you bastard-"

"Please, there is no need for insults…" a man in the corner interjected all of sudden and Vera gasped at hearing her mother tongue. "She's just calling you names, sir."

This was a fucking nightmare. She couldn't even swear in her own language goddammit. Could it get any worse?

"Yes, I did obtain an interpreter, just in case you would like to switch to your mother tongue," he answered what he assumed was her unspoken question and Vera felt like she was choking on air.

"How _considerate_ of you." And then she couldn't help it; her brain was running on god knew what. The French curse came out of nowhere. _"Connard."_

Fisk raised his eyebrow when his interpreter didn't translate that. Vera felt a tiny flicker of satisfaction. It was like the last spark of happiness before she would die, she supposed.

"I really could use someone like you. Shame… let's go back to my questions. How do you think your death will affect Mr. Murdock? And the Devil? Perhaps Murdock's former associate, Mr. Nelson? I will focus on him later, of course, but just out of curiosity…"

The Devil in her yawned at his questions, stretching and then smirking as he truly woke up.

"Well, I think the Devil will enjoy breaking your bones one by one. As for Matt, you said I'm causing him sorrow. Maybe he'll be relieved."

Seeing Wilson Fisk's lopsided amused smile was a picture of horror, Vera decided.

"Oh, you must think I'm a fool, don't you? Tell me the truth. How do you think we will grieve?"

"I don't know."

He hummed at that, straightening and tightly gripping the knife Vera had almost forgotten about. She only had half of second to prepare for the pain. It was not enough as the buried the knife deep between her ulna and radius, making her scream as her vision turned white from the agony.

"Well, try to imagine. It's going break him, isn't it?" he demanded and all Vera could do was to clench her teeth to stop herself from yelling an answer.

"You. _Wish."_

He twisted the knife and Vera couldn't help but cry out at the unbearable pain.

_Pass out, pass out, PASS THE FUCK OUT!_

"Excuse me if I don't believe you. His life wasn't the happiest one, was it? He has lost so much. His mother. His sight. His father. His dream firm, falling out with his best friend. All of this kept him quite in a misery."

The pressure eased a little and in the back of her mind, Vera wondered if he had let go of the knife or pulled it out completely. She didn't find the courage to open her eyes as her heavy breathing wavered.

_God, please, just let me pass out. Or die. Please, God, just stop this and don't let me feel any more pain._

God didn't listen. The Devil inside was not pleased and shivered in anticipation of striking.

"It never broke him," she panted, her head swimming. "He's still standing, isn't he? Even took you down, took _everything_ from you. That's what really pissed you off, didn't it?"

"Of course," he confirmed, a new edge to his voice as she hit the nail on the head. The devil in her grinned in satisfaction. "But you… you stayed. How could he be unhappy when having such a lovely lady by his side, no matter of how questionable character. There's _nothing_ he values more than you."

And that pissed of Vera for a change. She didn't know how her body was still functioning, she honestly didn't. But she snapped her eyes open, trying to focus her gaze on the huge man's face.

"If you believe that, go ahead then," she snarled. "_Kill me._ Yes, he'll be ruined by my death, of course he will. His life keeps kicking him down, but guess what? He always gets up. _Always_. He'll be crushed, but he'll get over it. So, _do it._ Take your shot."

His large hand caught her throat as his free hand waited stretched, once again waiting to be handed something. Her eyes instinctively flickered that direction, only to see another knife.

Vera wished she could tell she was brave enough to look into his eyes as weapon replaced his fingers and went under her chin. She wasn't. The tip of the blade was pressed against her jaw vertically and would easily gone through her skull if he yanked it. She simply wasn't brave enough to face her murderer, she didn't want his face to be the last thing to remember. Instead, she closed her eyes, not opening them when he raised her chin higher, the blade following. He cut her skin just enough to make her bleed once more.

And she knew that was it.

She thought of her mum and dad, who would be horrified and crushed by her death, about her brother, who would be crushed too, but also furious, furious with Matt, because he hadn't been able to protect her; maybe even furious with himself, because he had told her not to give up on her relationship with Matt when it could have ended easily. She thought of Terri, who would be blaming herself, because she hadn't seen it coming and of course, Victor would deal with a sobfest. She thought of Nina, Trish and other people she considered friends, all of them knowing why exactly she had died, while her friends in Czechia would be clueless.

And she thought of Matt. _Oh_ _Matt._ Vera knew how he had reacted to her being close to death before. Yet, she hadn't been lying when saying she had no idea how he would grieve. She knew he was going to be pissed. Like really, really pissed, if not… if not crossing the line and actually taking a life – and she hoped, she really hoped he wouldn't, that would truly kill him – then being dangerously close, maybe closer than ever. And he would be… sad. Hurting. She worried about was him burying the sadness inside and closing off. Closing off to everyone. She had to believe Foggy, Danny and the others wouldn't let him. She prayed, remembering Father Lantom, hoping he would offer comfort as well.

And the death still wasn't coming.

_He's stalling,_ a quiet voice whispered in the back of her head. _Torturing you with the expectation of the pain and the end_.

Vera didn't have the courage to face him. But she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of her losing _her_ patience and blink her eyes open only for his face to actually be the last thing she would ever see.

The blade disappeared, his hand falling off her face. She still didn't open her eyes; in contrary, she squeezed them tighter.

What was he doing now? Deciding if throwing the knife at her was more fun? Taking a gun instead? Impaling her head on a knife wasn't satisfying enough? She was tied down, unable to move, but she could feel her body shivering, tears running down her face. She hadn't thought she had any left. Apparently, she had been wrong. She choked on a sob.

"Mm… _interesting,"_ he hummed and Vera forced herself not to look at him, bewildered, her whole body shaking in anticipation.

'_Interesting'_, he said.

_What is?_

"From what you're saying… he '_gets over'_ his loses… possibly mostly because no reminders are present. Fascinating. Let's test the theory, shall we?" he offered, sounding as if he truly found his theory interesting.

And Vera lost. She opened her eyes, seeing him pulling out her phone, wiping her fingers dry of her blood to use her thumb to unlock it; despite her efforts to keep her fist clenched (and fuck did it hurt to do that), she let go when Fisk took the knife again, threatening to cut the flesh on her wrist.

Vera cursed the day she had set up unlocking her phone with her fingerprints. It was a pure laziness, not to remember a PIN.

The huge madman surfed through her phone, his mouth twisted in a strange grimace until he smiled, finding what he was truly looking for. Vera tried to jerk from the tight ropes with no result, just like the millionth times before; all she achieved was more pain shooting through her nerve endings and the dizziness taking over.

It was painfully clear what he was about to do. It was also painfully clear Matt wasn't coming. She was already dead.

_No, no, no, don't call him, don't call him, please, don't let him hear me die-_

_Don't let me die._

Fisk glanced at her, one corner of his lips up wickedly. Vera didn't want to beg, didn't want to look pathetic, knowing this man had a plan and no matter what she would promise him, he wouldn't change it. So she tried her best to reciprocate his gaze, glaring at him with hard eyes full of challenge. Maybe if she pissed him off more…

_Kill me, you bastard. Kill me, you fucking coward. Slowly_. She really didn't want him to kill her slowly. She wanted it quick. _And do it now._ _Please, please, now. And don't call him._

"One more thing," he wavered, his expression curious.

His face looked like one of the scientist's from the movies, the ones intrigued in their experiment, no matter the cruelty they treated their subject with, just wanting to know the result at any cost.

Her tired mind didn't even asked '_what?'_, that was how exhausted it was.

"I really do admire your dedication. Letting me throw dirt on your relationship with the only man you love, not even flinching when I talk about him as if he was two different people. Tell me, Veronika… how much longer would you handle pretending that Mr. Murdock isn't the Devil of Hell's Kitchen?"

**-.-.- Cisco -.-.-**

Cisco thought he had seen a lot of scary things, especially during the past year. Seeing (and hearing, _Christ_, that _sound_) Barry have his spine broken was probably on the top of that list, right under the feeling of having a hand vibrate through his own chest. Hearing Wilson's Fisk gruff voice was now somewhere around the top as well, probably taking the third place.

'_Good morning, Mr. Murdock. How is your day going so far?'_

The simple question with obnoxious subtext was just adding to the heavy feeling in Cisco's stomach.

"Where is she? What did you do?" Murdock blurted to the phone, his voice getting a dangerous vibe.

Yeah, Cisco could see how this guy was a vigilante.

Which wasn't relevant. Again. Barry's brain apparently was more focused than Cisco's, because he pulled them all back into their room, the door clicking shut behind them.

And Fisk's voice continued, ominous.

"_Nothing much, yet. We're actually having a lovely conversation. About her. About you. About afterlife."_

Matt's knuckles (and Cisco didn't know when he became a Matt instead of Murdock, maybe it was the mention of his fiancée's afterlife) went white as he gripped the phone tighter, his jaw audibly clicking as he clenched it.

"Don't-"

"_We were wondering… how will you process her loss? How will you get over it? Because she believes you will."_

One brief look at Matt's pale face told Cisco that Matt didn't agree with Vera. Cisco felt like throwing up when he went over the kingpin's words.

"_It got me thinking. Though I'm usually for quick solutions, easy ones, clean… I wonder if I should make an exception. You took the woman I love more than anything in this world from me-"_

"She's just abroad, you can still be with her," Matt spoke urgently, making his way through the room as if it helped his anxiety. His hand was curled up in a fist, pressed against his forehead. "Don't-"

The voice from the phone faded a little as the lawyer moved, but maybe Cisco's ears pricked up on instinct, because he could still hear it with uncomfortable clarity.

"_Vanessa is alive, that's true. But I can't be with her now, while I know she's still out there. Close but far…"_ the man on the other end made a pause and Cisco's heart skipped a beat in anticipation. "_An eye for an eye… oh, excuse my humour. We have a mutual friend, Mr. Murdock. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen. I asked her about him too. She's quiet when it comes to his identity. As if she didn't want to talk at all. She's barely making a sound when the blade cuts through her skin and flesh too. All of this… it got me wonder, what would change if she wasn't able to speak. Tell me, how does a blind man communicate with a mute person?"_

Cisco's blood ran cold. Was he threating her to-

"Don't touch her!" Matt thundered into the phone, tone a liquid threat, his face twisted in rage. Cisco was somewhat grateful he couldn't see his eyes too. And then Matt gulped, his voice dropping. "Whatever you want-"

"_I noticed she has a marvellous ring, if little smeared with blood now. It doesn't look like a wedding one to me and the rumour has it the wedding is still ahead. It would be a pity not to hear her say 'I do', wouldn't it?"_

Caitlin covered her mouth and Cisco paced to the vigilante, his hand gripping his forearm. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Come on, Vibe, _vibe! Vibe, dammit!_

"Please-" Matt rasped, ignoring Cisco's touch, his muscles scarily tense, rock hard.

"_She seems quite loyal and forgiving. Maybe she will stay by your side to suffer silently. Oh, sorry, bad humour again. If I crippled her somehow… that would break you for real, wouldn't it? Something you wouldn't recover from, because there would be a very quiet reminder of it, every single day of your life. Perhaps if she was paralyzed, unable to move from her neck down, unable to speak… a little spine injury in the right place, a little clot in her brain maybe. We humans are so fragile, aren't we?"_ the voice Cisco would now hear in his nightmares continued, ignoring Matt's plea.

"_Imagine her suffering and you taking care of her, knowing she might hate you for it. Knowing that every minute she wants to scream but can't, maybe even wants to die… and it's completely your fault. You could hate me, Mr. Murdock. You can hate me for what I'll do, but it will be on you. On you and your silly little dress up. For the rest of your life, she will blame you, but she'll never say."_

Matt was shaking. Cisco could feel the violent tremble under his fingers, touching the man's fear and possibly rage. Cisco was sick from his stomach, paralyzed on his own by Fisk's words. There was a tiny part of him that noticed Matt's horror escalating when the kingpin revealed he knew Matt's secret, but it was like dropping a spoon of salt into an ocean of terror.

Barry shushed the winning beep of the call tracing before Fisk could hear it. Matt's head snapped up as Caitlin, who had had enough wit to start the trace in the first place, read the address for Barry in barely audible voice.

"_4036, 9th Avenue, go! And don't-… die."_

Cisco winced when he heard guns going off, surprised shouts and cursing. Matt tensed even more, his eyes wide in horror even behind his glasses. Cisco prayed Barry was truly geared up and wouldn't catch a bullet, because he could be dead by the time they would get to another side of Manhattan.

And then there was quiet.

"Vera?" Barry's voice addressed the girl gently, but he got no response. Cisco held his breath. Was she-

There was the familiar swish of wind again and they were back, both of them. Barry carefully laid her down on his bed; Matt stumbled over his feet, almost knocking Cisco over.

Cisco huffed out a hysterical laugh of victory, staring at the Flash in all his glory. "Did you seriously pack your suit with you?"

He got no response as they all turned their attention to the lying figure.

Vera was apparently still conscious. Her eyes darted around the room frantically, not focusing on Matt at all despite him being so close, hovering above her. She was absolutely disoriented. Her chest was rising and falling wildly in a furious pace, her body shaking. Also, there was a knife sticking out of her forearm. _Jesus Christ._

And she was bleeding. Like _a lot_. Mostly on arms, some cuts on her torso. But there was also a trickle of blood on her throat too and for a second, Cisco was horrified Barry hadn't make it in time to stop this Fisk guy from— from what, cutting off her vocal cords?!

"Vera, please."

Caitlin stood hesitantly by the bedside, letting Matt examine Vera's wounds and cupping her face. Vera seemed to be unable to focus on anything, completely out of it. The doctor launched after her suitcase then, unsurprisingly pulling out a first aid kit.

"Please, love, say something."

Cisco felt tears stinging in his eyes at the picture in front of him. _Please, let her be okay…_

Matt's fingers carefully touched the wound on her throat and he seemed to relax a little. Vera's bloody hand twitched, rising just a little and falling back as if she didn't have enough energy to actually move it.

"_I do,"_ she breathed.

And then she passed out.

-.-.-  
Notes:  
I'm sorry? That was way more brutal that I intended. Or was it?

Also, just so you know how my brain works, there is a quote from my reader-insert Troubles Are Lurking in Queens from 21st August last year (find on my AO3 or Wattpad). It's the Reader speaking to Tony Stark:  
_"The last fucking time someone had my phone and talked to Matt was when I was kidnapped by Wilson. Fucking. Fisk! He threatened to break my spine to paralyse me, you. Selfish. Arrogant. Bastard!"_

Yes. This chapter of this very fic was (for most part anyway) written before 21st August. I only finished it recently. My brain is a freakin' mess.


	8. Just another Tuesday

_**The pipeline**__ is a prison designed by the Team Flash to contain metahumans (people with powers), placed in the STAR Labs. Just to clear things out._

-.-.-

**8\. Just another Tuesday**

Cisco didn't stick around when Caitlin was stitching up Vera's injuries with the assistance of the blind man – he would be no help and they had another pressing issue. Matt was now fully focusing on Vera, obviously relieved she had survived, and while Cisco was happy about it as well, he was able to keep his distance and think about everything Wilson Fisk had said.

The kingpin knew Matt was Daredevil. Cisco wasn't quite informed about just how far his influence went, but he could tell Fisk knowing meant nothing good. Actually, it was a ticking bomb.

So while Caitlin and Matt had their hands full, he exchanged a glance with Barry, who had already managed to return from another trip to the warehouse Vera had been held in and where he had been playing guard and had a short chat with the NYPD – and immediately recognized his friend was thinking about the same thing.

"Ideas?" Cisco asked the minute they left the hotel room.

Barry grimaced. "Well, we can lock him up in the pipeline. He won't tell anyone there. Maybe I should have just taken him there in the first place, not letting the NYPD get him."

"Well, it's not like you can't take him now. But even if you did, I'm not sure how much of a help it would be. All of his minions probably know. God knows who else."

"I'm open to any ideas," Barry noted wryly.

Both men fell into an uncomfortably long silence.

If Cisco was Oliver Queen or someone similar, he would have probably just locked them up all on a stranded island like Lian Yu, which was clearly an alternative to STAR labs pipeline. The thing was, there was no way they could find out who else beside Fisk knew, who was the 'all' – unless they would have tortured Fisk, which was another no-no as much it might have been Oliver's M.O. once.

Mentally, Cisco whined. This was getting from a ticking bomb to a Ticking Time Bomb scenario and he did _not_ like that in the slightest.

Why were there people so evil that they would simply deserved to be erased from the Earth's surface?

"How bad would you feel if you walked into someone's consciousness?"

Cisco's eyebrow rose, his curiosity spiking.

How exactly Barry wanted to do that? It wasn't like they could just shrink into some tiny nanobot and find the right synapse between neurons in Fisk's brain to destroy; the neurons didn't have it written on them and human mind was much more complicated than that. Plus, Cisco wasn't quite sure how to shrink – the last person talking about shrinking was Ray Palmer and where was he? Gone. Puf. During a shrinking experiment. So… yeah. May he rest in peace. Cisco had no desire to follow his example.

But hey, a nice thought.

To answer Barry's question – not too bad. Sure, it was mean and invasive, but it wasn't like they would be hurting the guy, the _bad_ guy, on top of that. They had erased Eobard Thawne from existence. If they would be somehow able to make Fisk not thinking Matt Murdock was Daredevil without killing the guy, it would barely be close to the stunt they had pulled once before.

"Go on, Allen. I'm listening."

"The goggles we created when you first discovered your abilities. I think that if we modified them, you might be able to enter _his_ dreams. His consciousness."

"Sure. Just enter his dream and tell him he's wrong. Piece of cake_. Really, Barry?"_

His superfast friend didn't seem to be discouraged by the amount of scepticism in Cisco's voice.

"Yep, something like this. Wanna give it a try, Ramon?" Barry challenged him with a slowly forming grin. _Damn_, Barry knew him so well.

"Hell yeah."

Caitlin barely glanced up from her work when they returned to the room.

"We're going back to Central," Cisco announced, getting the doc's full attention; and receiving her plain confusion.

"Why?"

"You really think you can_… enter Fisk's mind?"_ Matt asked them, sounding _slightly_ dubious. There was a small grateful smile on his face though, a carefully restrained hope. Cisco was honestly surprised Matt had been listening to them – but he probably couldn't block it out completely, not even when focused on something else. "And _erase memories?"_

"Why would you want— oh. Because he knows who Matt is. That… sounds like a challenge," Caitlin considered their idea warily.

Barry shrugged. "Well, the only other option we came up with so far is locking him up in the pipeline and try to make him tell us who else knows, so…"

"That's not gonna work."

"Thanks, Captain Sceptical," Cisco noted wryly in Matt's direction, feeling a bit annoyed. Hello? Just trying to help here?! He turned back to Caitlin. "But yeah, we don't think that will do. We want to toy with the goggles you created for me."

Caitlin seemed to be lost for a second as if she had no idea what they were talking about. Then her face lighted up.

"That's pretty smart. I'll join you-" Matt shot her an alarmed look. "-when I finish with Vera. Actually, I think it might be better for her to be in STAR Labs. We could run some tests. That is, unless Matt wants to take her to the hospital? I would definitely recommend at least one of those options though – actually, why haven't we…?"

Matt seemed torn, while Barry scratched the back of his bashfully. Cisco eyed him, silently asking the same question as Cait; why exactly hadn't he taken Vera to the hospital in the first place…? No complaints here, Matt clearly needed to know she was alive, but… yeah.

"Look, STAR Labs took care of a guy who got struck by lightning for whole nine months. We can take care of her, Matt," Barry offered gently then, walking to the blind man. "They had actually moved me there from a hospital. We have much more advanced equipment in the lab."

The vigilante was still hesitating, head slightly inclined Vera's direction. Caitlin carefully reached for his forearm, only hovering above the surface, so she wouldn't smear his clothes with more blood. Which seemed to be a bit of a wasted effort, but hey, she tried.

"You could come with us, of course. You won't have to leave her."

At that note, Matt gulped, finally nodding.

"Alright. Cait, call me when you're done, I'll pick you up. Cisco, ready when you are."

Cisco grimaced, his stomach flipping at the idea of the speed he would be travelling when catching Barry as his ride.

"You know me, Barry. I was born ready."

It was a lie. The whole drama wasn't helping his stomach to begin with.

So naturally, the first thing he did after they arrived was to throw up. He was suddenly very grateful they hadn't had time to get breakfast. Brushing his teeth while Barry got them coffee from Jitters and donuts – bless that man! – he felt a bit better, once more sensing the excitement of an upcoming experimenting like a shot of ecstasy to his veins.

When they had first invented the goggles, it had been to help Cisco walk through his own mind a make sense of the strange visions – of his own death, oh yeah, _good_ _times_ – he had been experiencing. When he had put them on, he had been put into a sort of a hypnosis state, sleeping but not quite, still able to hear people who were in his surroundings, communicating with Barry and Cait.

It would be a long way to rebuild the device so it could be used for entering _someone_ _else'_s consciousness, but damn, wasn't he eager to try. He exchanged a smirk with Barry, who brought Doctor Wells – the real one, yeah, the annoying one, the man from another universe, whatever – to the room.

The irritated face he made was worth the grumpy company.

"What?" he hissed, apparently not surprised by the fact Barry had his speed back.

Then again, he wouldn't have looked shocked even if he was, probably claiming he had known it all along. Jerk. _Very smart jerk_, which was the part that mattered at the moment.

"Hey, Harry. Wanna built a Mental Wall Breaker with us?" Cisco asked him cheekily, lightening up when the name of the new device just popped in his mind and went right out of his mouth effortlessly.

Harry's eyes narrowed as his gaze flickered between Cisco's challenging eyebrows and Barry's innocent boy-scout smile.

"As long as it's _breaking_ something…" the man muttered and shuffled towards the glass board, preparing a marker. "What exactly you two dumbasses have in mind?"

Barry and Cisco exchanged a glance. Yeah, they liked him too.

_Let's get started._

_Jesus, whose idea was that?!_

Cisco huffed, setting the glasses down with more force that was necessary.

It wasn't that it was a bad idea. It only had one flaw actually – the goal seemed impossible.

And they were missing Caitlin's expertise on brain _so much_ it hurt.

So, while Harry was playing, secretly (or he probably thought so) happy he had something particular to do, even if it had nothing to do with hunting down Zoom, Cisco decided to take a nap. Nothing could refresh his genius' brain like a good nap, right? Even in the medical room of STAR Labs.

He barely let his eyelids fall when a gush of wind woke him up.

"_No,"_ he grumbled in annoyance, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Hello to you too, Cisco," Caitlin hummed back, not sounding any less exhausted than Cisco felt. He cracked one eye open in sympathy, only to see Barry laying Vera down to the other bed few seconds later. He groaned and pushed himself up. "How is the goggles project going so far?"

"We need a brain expert. Hint: you."

His friend smiled at him tiredly. "I'll just set up the transfusion and be right with you."

"Thank you," Matt's voice interrupted them sheepishly, his glasses-covered eyes on both of them. "I know that… that I have no right to ask this from you."

His voice was a strange mixture of guilt, shame and plea and Cisco's insides twisted in sympathy. How could a guy say no with this man sounding and looking so beaten? Cisco might have been bone-tired, but _sweet mother of dragons_, did he want to help.

"Nonsense," Barry opposed to the lawyer, "we want to help. Why don't you stay here with Vera and let us worry about the rest?"

"I could at least provide the blood."

Cisco blinked at the statement. What?

"To Vera, I mean. Caitlin was talking about a transfusion, which Vera definitely needs and-"

"Whoa, whoa! We have something in stock, alright? No need to go all Twilight on us," Cisco protested immediately, earning a confused expression from the man.

Right. Cisco was apparently the only one watching movies here. Not that he was proud of seeing that one, but that was beside the point.

_Pop culture, people! It can actually be useful! Remember the Atom Smasher? _

Anyway…

"Just… sit down and relax, okay?" Barry hurried, but soon realized his mistake. _Relax_. Right. With a supervillain knowing DD's secret identity and a woman severely injured. "Just… sit down. Cisco?"

"On my way!" he blurted out, jumping to his feet. "Let's science the shit out of this thing!"

Trying to leave all the worries and pressure behind, they made their way back to the lab. To science the shit out of this. And save the day.

Just another Tuesday for them. Right?

-.-.-  
Notes:  
Cisco totally would be delighted at the challenge of building a sort-of-a walking stick into someone else's consciousness, no matter how impossibly it sounds. Prove? LINK 1

P.P.S. – a brilliant scene from a brilliant episode of s2 concerning time-travel as well, because apparently I decided to overwhelm you with Flash references today and I loved season 1 and 2, okay: LINK 2

Also, the Atom Smasher (see the chapter) was lured into a certain location by the Team Flash going all Bat signal on him. LINK 3


	9. Another spandex-clad weirdo

_Cisco's POV shifts into someone else's towards the end… YAY? I think you'll like it ;)_

-.-.-

**9\. Another spandex-clad weirdo**

Cisco eyed the board with a bit of disgust, banging his head against the table. This whole process was getting out of hand. For some reason, he had been hoping it would be easier now when they had Caitlin with them. And in a way, it was.

But their exhaustion – the mental kind mostly – was rubbing their nerves and not in a good way.

Harry was being snappy, suddenly realizing finding Zoom and killing that son of a bitch – preferably after beating the shit out of him until he would give up the location of Harry's daughter – should be the priority. With Catlin who had nearly got blood in her hair when stitching up Vera, with Barry out of sugar from all that running in the mix and with the process of not getting closer to its solution, the frustration was climbing to a point of insanity.

"Ramon, that noise is really annoying," Harry complained and Cisco just shot him an incredulous look and resumed proceeding in his calming process.

Something hit the back of his head in response; he glanced up only to see a marker rolling away from him, while Harry just took a new one and continued writing equations. Cisco squinted at the man murderously.

_Seriously?_

_It hurt!_

"Right. Why don't we take a break? We're being useless. We need coffee. Sugar. Change of scenery. Just… for a while," Barry's hesitant voice echoed in the space, interrupting Cisco's periodic bangs.

"Sure, go have a snack, Baby Flash," Harry snarked, barely looking up from his work, "it's not like we're trying to earn every minute we can so we can move to the really important things…"

Yeah. The pressure of time was not helping either, let's be honest here.

"Alright, a break it is," Caitlin decided before Cisco or Barry could snap back at the other scientist.

"Whatever. Go, _pseudo_scientists."

Cisco rolled his eyes and shuffled out of the workshop, following his friends, while Harry stubbornly stayed. Cisco was actually grateful for more than one reason – at least he wasn't feeling too guilty for taking a short break, knowing there was still someone working on the solution to their not so little problem.

Oh man, Cisco's brain probably spoke in delta waves constantly now. _Stupid synchronizing_. He painfully needed something else to do.

"Hey, why don't I check on Vera and Matt, Cisco gets the snacks from his _secret_ stash and you get us some caffeine?"

"Maybe Matt would like a coffee-"

"I'm good," a voice cut off Barry, making them all jump and almost run back the corridor. Cisco clutched at his chest.

"Jesus, man! Don't do that! Just because you have superpowers, you don't get to sneak up on people!"

"Sorry. Just… I heard you. I know you're trying your best. You're sure there's nothing I can do to help? It's… frustrating to just sit here and wait," Matt admitted miserably and Cisco nearly forgave him for scaring the shit out of them.

"Not really. But we need to figure out what do we do when we actually make it. The goggles, I mean. We what, just kidnap the guy from prison?" Cisco questioned, earning three sour looks. "What?"

"Way to improve the mood. Just throw in another problem to solve."

Heavy silence fell and Matt nervously shifted his weight, clearly sorry for figuratively kicking them even lower. Cisco felt the same.

"We could do it the same way like the Starling accident. Joe could go – with Barry or Cisco. You _are _cops, after all, or consultants at least," Caitlin shrugged and Cisco's mind gladly switched to something else than the goggles.

It wasn't a bad idea – a bit of investigation from CCPD, it could be a good cover story. Once they would make up an actual reason for the Central City Police Department to be interested in a random case of kidnapping in New York City.

Then again, it wasn't like the NYC cops hadn't met the Flash, either in the costume or in his everyday-

Cisco's lips spread in a grin as the idea hit him like a train – a very exciting train.

"_Or…_ we could get ourselves a Jim Gordon. An inside cop."

Matt tilted his head curiously, intrigued by Cisco's tone. Or heartbeat. Whatever, Cisco wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Meaning?" Caitlin asked, not following.

"The detective from the café… he knows, right? Who you are, I mean?"

He _had_ seemed to know a lot about DD and his girl. What was his name again?

"Oh! That guy!" Barry exclaimed, suddenly excited as well as he caught up. "Matt?"

"He's not gonna be happy about it. But it could work. He can be trusted," Matt said, a hint of hesitant smile on his face.

_Wow. A hint of a smile. Must be Christmas. _

"That settles it then. I get the coffee and-"

They all turned at the sound of approaching footsteps – Matt sooner than any of them, obviously –, and Harry's figure dramatically emerged from the poorly lit part of the corridor.

"Forget coffee. I got it. These need a test ride. You offer, Loverboy?"

Matt's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, but he didn't comment on the nickname. "I could. Not sure how much Cisco will like my consciousness, given how much he enjoyed the last demonstration of my world."

All Cisco hair stood on its ends at the memory of the cacophony of noise, smell, taste, vibrations and shit. Nope, no world on fire for him.

"Nope, not doing that again."

"Barry's could be too fast," Caitlin sighed, resigned; she knew Harry would never let Cisco even sneak a peek ever again. The last time Cisco had vibed him, he had seen his daughter. There was one option left.

"Sorry, Cait."

"I'll live, I guess. It's for a good thing," she added to Matt's benefit when she eyed his guilty, yet hopeful expression. She smiled even when he couldn't see it.

"Thank you, Doctor Snow. I-"

"I know, Matt," she stopped him softly, her hand hovering – not touching, Cisco noticed, smart girl, after all – above Matt's arm. He shakily returned the smile. "Barry, why don't you and Matt talk to the detective while we'll test the device?"

Barry snapped his fingers. "Good idea. I think I'll pay him a visit. Matt, you okay with being a voice in my ear?"

"Much better than being carried with superspeed again," he admitted sheepishly and Cisco just nodded in sympathy. He could only imagine how terrible the experience could be with Matt's senses.

Walking through someone consciousness was the strangest experience in Cisco's life – and that was saying something, with him being Flash' superpowered sidekick. Seriously.

Caitlin's mind was quiet in comparison to Matt's world and rather organized. Cisco could hear Harry talk to him, hearing it somehow as Caitlin ears where perceiving the voice. It was like… supercool and superweird, but Cisco was just cheering that the goggles worked.

As Harry was talking, Caitlin's mind itself was opening for Cisco – when Harry spoke of pizza, Cisco was lead through several memories of his friend eating pizza – with Ronnie, on her own, with Barry and Cisco in STAR labs; when he spoke of Matt Murdock, Cailtin's brain obediently offered a memory of the MDDC and the reunion of Vera and her man, Matt's desperate plea in the hotel, his face in the labs as the blood was dripping from the bag by Vera's bed...

Cisco could see it all and it was pretty freaking awesome.

"Guuys, it's working," he squealed, full of delight, eyeing the bracelet on his right wrist that Harry had added. "Now I should… erase something?"

The solid ground under his feet slightly shook as Cait's mind probably didn't like that kind of talk.

"Yep. Let's go back to pizza again…"

Like magic, the scenery changed again, and Cisco found himself standing in the cortex of STAR Labs, seeing Barry eating his fourth pizza. Cisco took a deep breath.

Okay. He could do this.

"Sorry, Caitlin," he whispered, closing his eyes. He curled his right hand into a fist, which was supposed to activate the device on his wrist.

The echo of his and Caitlin's laugher at Barry faded away and Cisco found himself in the dark, until Harry said _pizza_ again and Cisco was welcomed in a different memory and another one, one melting into another just like before.

Expect _the_ one. The one he had tried to wipe away. It didn't show. It was truly missing.

He ripped his goggled off, swaying at the harsh return to reality.

"_Holy mother of dragons,"_ he gasped, staring at the devices in his hands with shock.

They did it. They really did it. What. The. Hell. Were. Their. Lives?!

Harry smirked. "Yeah. You're welcome, Ramon."

Cisco was too awed to be annoyed at the other man's smug. Harry was entitled, okay.

They just erased a memory.

-.-.- **Brett **-.-.-

Brett was not by any means having a good day.

Why? Because Fisk had somehow broken out of prison. Wilson fucking Fisk.

But the name itself wasn't the worst part. It wasn't that the man, who had corrupted half of the city including his co-workers, was free again. Nope. The way the NYPD had found out about it was; by an anonymous tip.

Not from the guards of the prison (which Brett suspected now was being controlled by the lunatic, because not noticing Fisk missing was be simply impossible), no, but from some Good Samaritan, who had called the station to tell them about a criminal lair, where Fisk and several of his companions were lying unconscious and tied up.

Judging by the M.O. – read _the lack of broken bones_ –, it was not Daredevil who had left the present for the NYPD. If Brett was being honest, he didn't think it had been the Avengers either.

Actually, the cops who had got there before Brett, were talking about a man in a red suit, with blurry face and somewhat vibrating voice. Right. Just when Brett thought he had seen it all. How presumptuous of him. How naïve. The man had supposedly introduced himself as the Flash. Brett had no clue what that meant neither he had had the time to google it.

Instead, he was stuck with a scarily calm Wilson Fisk in their interrogation room, blankly staring at a wall, his minions in the cells and with too many FBI agents lurking in the precinct.

Fan-_fucking_-tastic.

Oh, and he knew that there had been a kidnapped person in the lair, _very much injured_ person judging by the amount of blood, but apparently the _Flash_ had said that he had delivered her to safety to get medical attention. The cherry on top was that Brett was ninety-five percent certain it had been Vera, because when he thought of Fisk's possible female targets, all he could think of was Murdock's girlfriend and Murdock's former secretary. And he had had people to get in touch with Nelson and Page and there were fine.

So, given Vera's not-so-secret connection to both Nelson & Murdock and Daredevil, Brett was thinking maybe he should make it hundred percent sure. But hey, Fisk was a slippery bastard and hell if anyone knew what was going on in the crazy head of his.

So yeah, _not_ a good day at all. Or night.

Brett was sitting at the desk in his office, staring at the screen blindly, the words swimming in front of his eyes. He needed coffee dammit. When he glanced at the clock – almost one a.m., he needed it even more. The precinct was quieter now, the agents guarding Fisk and company had changed shifts at midnight, dutifully standing by the door while some very fancy investigators were still questioning with no result.

Brett sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.

A sudden gush of wind woke him up, the door to his office clicking, the blinds falling shut. His head snapped up that direction, but he saw no one.

"Detective," a strange voice resonated behind him, nearly giving him a heart-attack.

"Holy-" he let out as he spun to the intruder and instinctively reached for his gun. Another gush of wind and the gun was nowhere in sight. Brett's blood ran cold. "What-"

"I'm not here to hurt anyone."

Brett stared at the figure in a red suit – _suit?_ –, his heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't see the face of the stranger, which made him even creepier. The reassurance the man – if he was a man – had given him didn't help in the slightest. A lump grew in Brett's throat.

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm not the bad guy," the figure exclaimed after a beat of silence.

Brett wanted to grind his teeth at the familiar line. Was this guy like Daredevil? He sure was a mask wearing spandex weirdo, they had that in common. Except he had a lightning bolt on his chest instead of the horns. Were the Halloween costumes some sort of a membership card to the vigilante club? Was this man a vigilante? Was he friends with Daredevil or was the line only coincidental?

Brett Mahoney did not believe in coincidences. Not anymore. Not in the world of Fisks, aliens, Avengers, Daredevils and other insanities.

"Yeah, I heard that before," Brett grunted, less confident than he wished he was.

To be fair, this guy could apparently move _very_ fast. So yeah, Brett stood no chance. There was nothing Brett could draw confidence from.

"And it was the truth, wasn't it, Detective Mahoney?" the man spoke up again and Brett just huffed in exasperation, because _of course_.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're actually friends with him, aren't you?"

_A vigilante club._ What happened to good the old fight clubs?

"Depends who's _him_. I'm surely not friends with Wilson Fisk," the man in red protested, sounding almost insulted.

While Brett felt like he was being mocked, he explained for the guy's benefit.

"I mean- the Devil. You're the one who took Fisk's guys down. The Flash, the guys said."

The Flash seemed surprised by the conclusions Brett had made and to be honest, this time it was the cop who was insulted. He wasn't completely stupid, okay?

"Yes. A friend of yours came to me, asking for help."

"Well, wouldn't be the first time… I bet he asked the two crazy Robin Hoods too…" Brett murmured absently, trying to imagine Murdock actually _seeking allies_. Somehow, it seemed rather improbable.

Silence fell, the space crackling with something that felt almost electric. Brett couldn't tell why.

"…actually, that was his fiancée."

"How do you know- _oh_. Right. That's just great," Brett mused. So it was a bit like the fight club. They knew each other and just didn't share with people outside the club. Mostly. "So you know who he is, you know his fiancée and he's probably listening right now. And he's not here why exactly?"

The pause was shorter this time, but the vibrating voice was heavy when responding.

"Because he's with her. She's… not conscious."

_Well, shit._ So much for the _ninety-five_ percent. Vera was down for certain.

"Where is she?" _How is she?_

"Safe and being taken care of by people I trust with my life," the Flash replied, sounding honest. Brett nodded absently.

Okay. That… was weird, but probably good. With this thing out of the way, Brett continued to the next logical question.

It was simple, really. Surely, this vigilante hadn't come here to chat about the exclusive club or Vera. So the question was… _why?_

"And why are you here?"

Brett had a hunch before he even received the answer. It turned out to be right. Really, why people in masks – the good outlaws, mostly – paid visits to officers of the law? It was always the same; unless they were Matt Murdock and their girlfriend had been used as bait for the creepiest group of Satanists Brett had ever encountered.

"I need your help."

-.-.-.-  
I'm sorry it took me rather long. But ya' know, the Endgame (and coping with it by writing other stories), a trip to Venice (with crutches – it's possible, who would have thought), the end of the term creeping in… the usual stuff.

Leave a comment if you enjoyed or you have anything to say to me. I'm always ridiculously happy when you do :-*


	10. Walk in a (creepy) funhouse

**10\. Walk in a (creepy) funhouse**

Being only a voice in Barry's ear was something that was driving Matt crazy.

Or maybe it was the fucking shitstorm that had started the moment an armed robbery happened at MDDC, putting Matt on edge to begin with; because, really? A café, _that_ café of all the possible places? Matt truly, truly hated the Universe for that choice and the fact he could hear it happening, right from the beginning to the end, witnessing Vera – what the _hell_ she had been thinking – trade herself for another hostage, only to attempt to take on the robber, that was just infuriating. And impossibly terrifying. The noise of the bullet, the shot, it would be ringing in his ears for a long time, unison with the one that had echoed n his mind since he was nine.

They had fought about it, of course they had; the moment Vera had stepped into their apartment, it had been as if he had known she had been safe for the moment and the gagging fear had cleared the space for rage. He had shouted that day and so had she, as if not getting why he had been so upset, throwing him his hypocrisy right to his face. Of course, she had a point as well, but-

After the fight, Matt had only been squirming in regret, sensing her anxiety and sadness, tasting her tears. He had gone out, to beat the unsettling feeling in his gut away, dealing with the tourists from Central City in the process.

Vera had slept on the couch that night, leaving him in bed alone; he hadn't tried and moved her. Neither of them had got much sleep, missing the other, but too upset to make the first move towards making-up. Matt couldn't remember at which point he had actually fallen asleep, but when he had woken up, it had been to an empty apartment with no reassuring heartbeat in his ears.

Instead, he had been assaulted by an insisting mechanical voice repeating Jessica Jones' name. What a way to start a day. That fact itself, the PI calling him, could mean nothing good.

And it hadn't.

"Murdock, I think we have a big ass problem. You do. I have no time for that shit, but rumour from my source in prison has it that a certain dickhead escaped. Fisk's out," she had told him and that very moment, Matt's blood had run cold and it hadn't warmed ever since.

He couldn't hear shit. Nothing. The police hadn't known. Karen or Foggy hadn't called him to warn him. But he had found an endless line of text messages from Terri; not because the psychic had had a vision, no. It had been because her friend hadn't showed up at work.

Vera had been nowhere in his hearing reach either. His heart had positively stopped beating when learning that information.

There had been no one willing to help, pushing Matt to the very last possible solution – approaching the strange group that only had arrived two days before, already getting involved and stepping onto his toes.

Now here he was. On the fucking sidelines, letting the 'Team Flash' do the work for him, himself completely useless, his fiancée lying unconscious and barely breathing on a hospital slash laboratory bed. Matt wanted to scream in frustration. To rip his hair out in desperation. To keep punching something – _someone –_ so hard it would die.

And make no mistake, Wilson Fisk was a dead man. Matt desired to smash the monster's skull with his bare hands, he craved it so much it was almost paralyzing. Instead, he was assisting Barry with convincing Brett to let them erase Fisk's memories of Matt being Daredevil and of everything the man knew about Nelson, Murdock and company, so he would leave them alone.

When the fuck had that happened?!

On the outside, Matt was only anxious, possibly frustrated a bit. On the inside, his blood finally warmed up and reached the point of boiling.

"You can't just take our prisoner – actually, FBI's prisoner, we are only providing the cell – and expect no one will notice!" Brett hissed.

While the detective was keeping a very open mind, accepting the fact there were people who were able to erase memories and run in the speed of sound, he was still a realist. Matt didn't blame him. Personally, he would prefer just killing that son of a bitch and all of his minions with him.

Now that was a lie and Matt knew that, he didn't really want to murder masses, but at the moment, he just _loved_ the idea of the relief it would provide him.

"Then we move the guards outside and try to— yeah, no, we need the equipment, forget it. Just move the guards outside and put the recording on a loop. We need to do this, Detective Mahoney. We need to find out who knows. Who would keep threatening M— my friends' lives," Barry stated, his voice pleading, yet authoritative.

Matt could hear Brett's long tired sigh.

"The world was much easier without you masked weirdoes running around, you know that?"

Matt didn't take offence. To be honest, he kinda agreed. Except there were faults in the law system and—_oh, _aliens and superpowered people had started appearing. So, yeah. Talk about fighting fire with fire. He couldn't believe his own hearing as Cisco and Harry managed to erase Doctor Snow's memory. But that was the world they lived in now.

"Thank you, Detective," Barry said, recognizing the cop's resignation. "We all appreciate-"

"Just stop talking. Don't push your luck. What do you want me to do?"

Yeah. Brett was always asking the right questions.

"Well, we need to—_is it working?"_ Barry whispered to the comms, only to have Matt confirm it. "Great. So, Detective, we need to transfer our prisoner first. You up for it?"

"As if I had a choice…"

Matt was feeling like under water, his pulse too loud in his ears, yet too low to ignore the sounds from the lab.

The lab Fisk had been brought to by panting Barry. In the room with a scientist, who was about to take a walk in a madman's consciousness – in a memory Matt wanted to wipe. With a doctor fastening the straps and applying sensors to his skull – the skull Matt wanted to smash. With a man whom Matt wasn't sure was doing there exactly.

They all agreed it was for the best if Matt wasn't present. Given that it took all of his strength not to spring from his seat and beat the man to death, they were probably right.

He squeezed Vera's calf tighter – unable to do the same with her hand due to her injuries. The thought only made him see white.

But she was still here. Still alive. She still fought. She still needed him, here, guarding her. Matt knew it was a load of bullshit, well-aware of the system that would immediately call Doctor Snow if anything changed, but he tried to sooth himself with that thought.

Vera still needed him. If he had gone all the way and killed Fisk, the satisfaction would be short-lived. He would never be able to face Vera again. He would never be able to live with himself.

He let go of her, sliding down from his chair, leaning onto the mattress with his elbows, clasping his hands together. He rested his forehead against his interlaced fingers, his lips moving on autopilot.

He wasn't speaking lowly. He spoke loud enough for God to hear him, but more importantly, loud enough to drown out the noise from the other rooms.

He had a mission on his own now, a different role. So he fulfilled it.

He prayed.

It didn't really work, the drowning out sounds thing. He could still hear Cisco's curses, Fisk's pulse quickening at times, Doctor Snow's concerns, Harry's comments. It was a goddamn cacophony; yet, he didn't follow the calling, the _screaming_ of his body to get the hell up.

He tightened his grip and prayed louder, repeating the words all too familiar to him over and over, trying to focus on their meaning.

And then it was over. With a gush of wind, the monster was gone.

Matt could hear Cisco's exhausted footsteps heading the direction of Vera's room and he lowered his voice, gradually easing his hold. The engineer hesitated before entering the Cortex and then went for it, standing by the glass door that separated the hospital room from the space of the main room.

He leaned onto the frame, waiting for Matt to motion his head in acknowledgement of his presence. Only then he said the words Matt had been waiting for.

"It's done."

Cisco explained him it would probably be like a spider web to crawl through. That they had several names now, the ones Fisk's mind gave up, which weren't as many as they were afraid of. Now they had to find the enlightened ones, figuring out to whom _they_ possibly spilled the beans. It wouldn't be easy, but Cisco believed that the worst part was behind them.

"Let me just tell you… that guy's mind is so messed up. All the nasty stuff he had done…. I mean, just how much he has done to _you_? Hitting you with a car and drugging you? Seriously?" Cisco vented his disbelief and disgust.

The words made Matt freeze. "What?"

That… he couldn't be saying what Matt thought he was saying, right? That would mean… that-

"I mean, not personally, sure, he was in prison at the time, but-"

Matt skin cringed, his heart racing a mile per minute. was it possible that he _was_ implying that-

"That was Fisk? The car crash was _Fisk's doing?!"_ he hissed, shooting up to his feet, only to make Cisco step back with his hands up in a harmless gesture, 'don't shoot the messenger' style.

Matt's mind was dashing. That was impossible, right? That even the accident, the accident which had sent him to a horrible alternative world of his own head, the crash that had caused him being in a coma… was on Fisk as well. That couldn't be the truth.

But then again, Cisco had walked through Fisk's mind. Who else could know better than the man who would possibly orchestrate the plan himself?

"…yeah. Sorry, I thought you knew that it was him, just like the drugs."

"What drugs? He never drugged me," Matt opposed immediately, glad he could distract himself from the ball of rage building in his gut.

He really wanted Barry to bring Fisk back here so he could actually _murder _him for everything he had done. Was the list ever about to end? Or would it always be something new? A never ending story of sins and crimes, trying to convince Matt that Wilson Fisk didn't deserve to live?

"_Wow,_ that's really messed up then. He did. After you were admitted to the hospital, he had someone inside, drugging you. Some nasty stuff, targeting your brain, your limbic sys—uhm, areas for fear, imagination and dreaming. He was pissed when you woke up so soon, you should have been out for months, this way he didn't manage to finish the plan and break out at the time. He ordered to kill the scientist who came up with the compound."

Yes, the list was definitely about to go on. Matt's head spun with such intensity he had to sit down. It was like a freaking puzzle pieces falling into place, to create the evilest masterplan ever created. Was he really hated that much? So much that Fisk had… the accident, the coma, the dream-

The words left his lips without consulting his brain. "Wait, what? What are you… you're saying that when I was in a coma…?"

Cisco shrugged, biting his lip as he sensed Matt was being torn apart by to many contrary emotions. Confusion and realization. Frustration and relief at the 'happy end'. Anger and gratitude. Too many, too many to recognize them all, ending up in a bundle of nothing and everything.

"I mean, apparently, you had a concussion too as far as he knew, but at some point, you only stayed out because the coma was induced," Cisco explained slowly, his voice attempting to sound soothing.

"I was dreaming," Matt murmured absently, memories of that other world hitting him like a train.

"Well, if you were, it was because of the drug too. Fisk didn't understand the chemistry, I can't tell you much more, but yeah, that was the general idea. For you to be in your own little dreamed hell, only to wake up much later into a real one."

"He was plotting for _months_," Matt whispered in shock. "That was before I even proposed to Vera. That— she could have been- _Christ."_

"…yeah. But you woke up, so they clearly underestimated you."

"Who was the inside man?" Matt blurted out, his head finally getting on the right track. All of that was in the past – they needed to make sure there were no chances to recreate such torture.

"He never saw his face…"

"So we don't know?!"

Cisco sighed, scratching his brow, suddenly even more exhausted as he uncovered another problem. Matt would have understood and had compassion for him, but he was panicking too much.

"We can check cameras and stuff, figure it out. I'll get onto it after I- uhm, finish with the people we know, okay?"

Matt gulped at the idea. How long that would take? Days? What if the man had been in touch with Fisk still and was instructed to act in case Fisk was re-captured? He could be-

"Hey, hey, Matt. We got this, okay? We don't know about any other masterplan in motion and we _would have_ if there was any. I was in his head alright? We got this. I know you barely know us… but you can trust us."

Matt squeezed his eyes shut, his ears overloaded with the gentle regular thump-thump of Cisco's heart. He was telling the truth. He genuinely believed they had things under control, unlike Matt. Matt felt like he was losing firm ground under his feet when he couldn't do a thing. But there was _nothing_ he could do to help and he knew that.

Which only made it more frustrating.

What he could do was to show them his trust, so they wouldn't have to worry about him too.

He took a deep breath, trying to fill his nose with a bit of _Vera_, to keep himself sane_. Still here. Still alive. Still breathing. Still needing him._

"Okay," he whispered, barely audible, looking up at Cisco for the man's benefit. "Okay."

-.-.-.-  
Notes:  
Duh. This one was hard for some reason. I guess it's only because it's so heavy. I hope. Because if it's unreadable too, I'm just gonna crawl into a hole and cry (or write another Steve reader-insert)

Maybe it was the knowledge of crossing another mind-blowing word count. We just hit 600k words with the Damned 'verse. Holy crap. There's a bit more planned, but I don't think I'll make it to 700k – not sure anyone would still read to that point honestly.

But I just want to say thank you for sticking around that long and special thanks to everyone who's been supporting me. I honestly love you. Thank you.


	11. The puzzle pieces

**11\. The puzzle pieces**

The whole Team Flash was incredibly busy – they had several databases being searched at one time, looking for any thugs related to Fisk based on the clues they had found in his mind, Barry was bringing people in and out as if it was nothing, Cisco was erasing memories as if it was a second nature to him, Harry apparently couldn't resist watching them work like a control freak and Caitlin was watching over all of them, making sure they didn't pass out. Which was a valid worry, given just how much calories Barry was burning with all the running and heavy lifting (Matt had no clue how he was able to carry a man like Fisk himself) and Cisco's mental exhaustion was getting the best of him; still, they kept working relentlessly.

Matt was still out of the loop though, not participating for obvious reasons of wanting to murder all of Fisk's men. He tried a different strategy this time around; he busied himself with his phone. The amount of missed calls and texts was impressive to say at least. Matt had no intention to call every single of the people though – he had no energy for that.

He sent a text to everyone who cared – Karen and Foggy, Claire, Trish and Jessica, Terri and Nina… as well as to Vera's brother. He hoped it would buy him some time to make a few calls, because there were people on that list that would not be satisfied with a simple text.

He started with Terri.

"What the fuck Murdock?!" she hissed to the phone instead of a greeting. She sounded pissed and desperate, causing Matt's gut twist in guilt. As in more guilt than he had felt until that moment.

Matt massaged the bridge of his nose before answering.

"Hey, Terri-"

"You can't just call me, asking about seeing anything about Vera and hang up when I say no! I knew something was wrong when she didn't show up at work and now there are news about Fisk breaking from prison, his re-arrest in a warehouse where there was a puddle of blood, but no injured person and—and-" she sobbed, making Matt wince in sympathy. "I didn't see anything, Matt. Why didn't I see anything? It's her, isn't it? He took her and-"

Despite being at the bottom of a pit at the moment, something in Matt quirked. He felt a sudden urge to comfort her despite needing a soothing care by himself. He blamed Vera for that; he knew what she would want to do if- if she was _conscious_. Matt ignored the twist which the reminder gave his stomach, his hand absently running through her hair. Terri had no reason to feel guilty.

Also, clearly she hadn't read his text yet, because otherwise she would know it _was_ indeed Vera the media were talking about.

"Terri, calm down. It's okay. You're not… you're not able to tell your powers to work on command. It's not… it's not your fault."

He wasn't even lying. No matter how frustrated he was that the poor woman didn't see Vera's kidnapping, he couldn't even be mad at her. There were several people to blame, Fisk at the top, sharing the place with Matt, but Terri… Terri wasn't on the list.

The barista sniffled into the phone, her voice still shaking.

"Vera? How- how is she? Is she gonna be okay? Did he- what did he do? What did that bastard do to my best friend?"

'_She's barely making a sound when the blade cuts through her skin and flesh too. All of this… it got me wonder, what would change if she wasn't able to speak. Tell me, how does a blind man communicate with a mute person?' _

'_Maybe she will stay by your side to suffer silently…' _

'_Perhaps if she was paralyzed, unable to move from her neck down, unable to speak… a little spine injury in the right place, a little clot in her brain maybe. We humans are so fragile, aren't we?'_

Fisk's words echoed in Matt's head, his heart racing in his ribcage, his blood boiling and freezing at the same time, making his ears ring.

What if he had succeeded? What if they had been too late, rushing to the rescue? What if he had done some damage Doctor Snow had missed and Vera wouldn't… wouldn't be the same, ever?

_She won't. She was kidnapped by a psychopath and cut open, you dick. She will never be the same, having scars – on her psychics, on her body. Even if the doctor didn't miss a thing, there is enough of consequences already._

His mind closed itself in a loop, a picture of Vera strapped to a bed forever turning his stomach upside down.

"Matt!" Terri urged over the phone and Matt shook away the tears of rage and regret in his eyes, forcing himself to uncurl his fists.

He had a distant feeling Terri wasn't trying to get his attention for the first time.

"Sorry," he rasped, fighting the lump grown in his throat. "Sorry, she… she's out for now. Stitched up. She—she lost a lot of blood, needed a transfusion. They made several tests and it seems that… that beside multiple cuts and a mild concussion, she should… she should be fine, but God, Terri, he-…"

He pressed his lips together, his nails digging into his palm. His world was spinning.

"…what, Matt?" Terri asked, horror in her voice. "What did he do?"

"She's—she's been fucking sliced—there are so many cuts, Terri, he-"

He could hear her breathing hitch, the sharp inhale, the grind of her teeth and he wanted to scream.

This was on him. Vera had been taken because of her connection to him. And she almost died. She was _still_ fighting for her life.

"Where are you, Matt?"

He breathed in shakily, taken aback by that question. He shouldn't have been; it was only natural Terri wanted to see her best friend. He had texted everyone that they were out of the city, never saying where.

"Nowhere you should be coming, Terri."

"Fuck you, Murdock!"

"Theresa, please-"

"Don't you DARE to Theresa me!" she shouted back, making him flinch. His own anger spiked, but he knew she wasn't the person to take it out on.

"Terri, _please_. We're with friends, alright? They are… they are taking care of Fisk's associates, working on—working on making things right."

There was a short pause on the other end of the line.

"Explain."

Matt sighed, suddenly feeling more exhausted than ever. "I can't tell you-"

"Matthew Michael Murdock, I swear to God-" she threatened, her voice rising again.

"I _can't. _At least not now. Please, Terri."

Wow, he didn't say so many pleas to anyone else than the Lord himself since— he wasn't sure when.

"_Fine. _Just… keep me updated?"

Matt felt his lips relax in a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Terri. I really appreciate it."

"Well, I don't. So you'd better fucking explain yourself. And keep your eyes on Vera, _really_ closely. Because I apparently can't," she muttered and Matt wasn't sure if she was being eaten up by guilt again or whether she was accusing him of keeping her from being with Vera.

"Thanks. Get some sleep, okay?"

"Said Mr. Hypocrite. Tell Vera I'm thinking of her, alright?" the barista whispered shyly and Matt felt the corners of his lips rise higher.

Terri was an actual treasure of a human being.

"I'll make sure to deliver the message. Bye, Terri. And thank you."

Matt let his hand fall into his lap, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He dutifully passed on the message to Vera's still sleeping form and started gathering strength for more phone calls.

He chose Foggy next, not quite ready for the incredible scolding that would come from Petr, with no doubt. Matt knew he deserved it, but he needed to share his fear first, he needed to hear Foggy's optimism and feel the warmth of his friendship.

Maybe it made him a coward; but Matt had never claimed he was a man without fear.

To Matt's surprise, the talk with Petr wasn't too bad – the man was scared shitless, no arguing here, but once he knew Vera was alive and hopefully on her way to recovery, he managed to find enough compassion not to kick Matt even lower than he felt being. They talked for a rather long time, ending up with Matt putting Petr on speaker so he could talk to his sister. Kinda. Matt was sure that when Vera was about to learn about the gesture, she would cry her eyes off, too touched to form words. Not that she could form words now.

Her condition didn't improve while he was catching up with her brother though. To be fair, it didn't deteriorate either, so that was a win.

Also, Brett called to find out how the whole 'erase memories thing' had been progressing; only to make Matt realize that he had tuned it out for few moments. When he focused again, he could hear Barry's exhausted voice and… faintly smell blood. Who was bleeding?!

"Alright, buddy, time to take a break."

"But-"

"Ramon, you're bleeding," Harry huffed, his steps loud as he paced trough the room.

"He's right, Cisco. You should get some rest. Barry too," the doctor's soothing voice noted gently.

As much as Matt wanted to feel for them all, he was also terrified – what if they stopped now and something would be set in motion? Some other plan they had missed, a plan only a person they hadn't reached yet knew?

"But-" Cisco protested once more, a disgusting noise escaping him when he tasted the blood, probably dripping from his nose.

"We have two guys here, who are most definitely at the bottom of the food chain. You said you barely found any mention of them in a friend of a friend of a friend's mind. And they are not going anywhere. So, relax," Barry stated, effectively updating Matt on the status.

The knot in Matt's stomach eased a little. Perhaps he had missed more than he thought.

"Matt?" Brett demanded from the other end of the line and Matt shook his head to snap himself back to the call.

"Sorry, almost done."

"Wow. Okay. Good, I guess… not that I understand a thing about what you're doing. And Vera?" he asked carefully as if expecting bad news.

"Still the same. Unconscious, stitched up, after transfusion."

Brett sighed at the flat tone of Matt's voice, but Matt honestly didn't care. Mostly because he just heard Cisco mumble _'kay, then-'_ and then there was shuffle of fabric and wind as Barry barely managed to catch his friend's body before it hit the floor.

_Well, shit._

"Okay. I hope she gets better soon."

"Yeah. Thanks for your help, Brett," Matt hurried, worried about the psychic.

"Yeah, yeah. Bye."

"Dammit, Cisco. couldn't you say something earlier?" the doctor complained and went to check him over. She sounded more annoyed than worried and Matt's shoulders eased their tension. "Harry, why don't you go check on Matt and Vera?"

Aaand the tension was back.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. I'm beat," Barry uttered, "I can't believe I'm saying it, but I think I need like ten bags of i.v. glucose."

"You got it, Mr. Alllen. Harry?"

"Fine, fine, I'll go check on the house guests…"

Matt sighed, thrilled about as same as the scientist himself. But he had to put himself together. He had several thanks to say and Harry could just be the first on his list.

Matt sent another prayer for Vera and braced himself. He could deal with annoyed scientist. He handled worse, after all.

By the time they hopefully eliminated the whole network, Matt could barely keep his eyes open. He should be able to do better than this, but he felt the exhaustion settle in his bones once the danger was over.

He still feared for Vera's survival, but as if his body knew the truth – that being he couldn't really do anything to help her –, it wouldn't let his mind control it anymore. He just… dozed off as soon as the Team Flash started taking turns in performing human stuff; sleep, food, showers.

Needless to say Matt didn't rest in an efficient way, unable to fall into a deep sleep, but with another bed prepared for him in the very same room as his fiancée's, he couldn't resist catching at least an hour or two.

Even with the work seemingly done, they didn't stop. Barry was looking through the footages from the hospital Matt had been treated in after the car accident, supposedly caused by Fisk, making sure they didn't miss anything. One of the perks of the speedster doing it was that he could play the footage at a really fast motion, saving their time. Also, he was working in the Cortex again, so Matt could be right with him if anything popped up.

"Holy crap!" Barry called out all of sudden, frantically pressing some key Matt couldn't identify, obviously.

Matt's heart stopped in anticipation of the worst possible news. Was there more danger?

"What is it?" he asked sternly, rushing to his side, just like Cisco and Caitlin. Matt could hear their breaths hitch at whatever they saw on the monitor.

It was Cisco who enlightened Matt though. "Whoa, okay. I don't suppose Natasha Romanov works for Fisk?"

Matt only managed to blink in shock. Come again? Why… why were they asking about Romanov? What-

"…what?"

"Natasha Romanov. The Avenger?" Barry clarified, clearly not sure if Matt didn't know the name or simply couldn't believe it. It was the latter. Romanov? In the hospital? "She was at the hospital. I only have one shot of her face – after she collided with Vera, actually, not that your girl noticed –, but the body recognition system and all… it looks like she was there most of the time you were out."

Matt's brain went to an overdrive, his mind racing.

Natasha Romanov? Why— how- what the hell? Was she there on a mission? Was it a coincidence? Matt's gut was telling him that _no._ There were no coincidences like that. Not with superspies.

So there was only one possible explanation; she had been there for him.

"…they had been watching us. Over us," he whispered incredulously, the words feeling heavy on his tongue. His head was spinning again at that revelation.

The Avengers? Watching over them? Really? Why? Because they were the oh so good guys? Because Stark was a control freak? Because S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to know everything? But Rogers promised not to tell the government agency…

"Looks like it," Cisco chuckled, awe in his voice.

Oh great, the fanboy was showing.

"That actually might be why you woke up earlier than planned. They must have a crazy team of scientists. If they have been able to get hands on your blood and every test result, they might have created an antidote of some sort," Barry thought out loud, stunning Matt again.

It made a perfect sense, their assistance. Then again… it didn't. Matt couldn't understand the possible motive. Why care about them in the first place?

If he was an optimist, he would give his money on Vera charming them, but these days he really wasn't one. The thing was that it didn't matter now, no matter how hard it made his stomach flip with nerves. The point was that the possibility of their involvement in his recovery was high and their help had been essential. Whatever they had done, for whatever reason, it had thwarted Fisk's original plan.

Which meant Matt owed them. A lot.

"_They've been looking after us,"_ he repeated quietly in disbelief.

"I take it you didn't know that either," Cisco hummed, reminding Matt that he had had no clue about the drug in the first place.

"No. No, they… I know Vera tried to contact them several times when we were… _I was_ in trouble, which brought the trouble to her as well, but they never answered. I thought they just didn't care at all. Apart from giving us an engagement gift of some sort."

"Well, they do seem like a pretty busy bunch of heroes."

"Yeah."

"Guess it's nice to know they didn't bail completely on you," Doctor Snow noted kindly, a smile in her voice.

Matt was too amazed to oppose and bring up that there was no reason for them to _not bailing_ as far as he knew.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is. Especially with what they have done"

"Did you send them a wedding invitation?" Barry pried, wiggling his eyebrows.

Matt chuckled, exhausted, the weight of what he had learned falling down on him. "Well. Not yet… And even if we will… I wouldn't expect them to come."

It seemed they all sensed there was more behind those words, but they didn't pry, guessing it was way too personal for them to dig.

Matt was grateful. He didn't want to think about the times he and Vera hadn't been together and about the fact they hadn't talked about the wedding since then.

Matt promised himself that if she was about to wake up still willing to remain in their relationship, he would have asked as soon as an opportunity would rise.

He tried to ignore the heavy weight in his stomach at the '_if'_ he had been thinking. _If_ she woke up and wanted to have nothing do with him, he couldn't really blame her now, could he?

Suddenly crushed upon the realization, he shuffled back to the med bay, falling into the chair beside her bed.

After all, it might be the last chance he would get to be in her presence. No one would be able to reproach her if she decided that she never wanted to see him again.

Feeling the bile climbing up his throat, he squeezed his eyes shut and prayed for something else for a change, even though he possibly didn't deserve it. He prayed she wouldn't leave him – this time not when leaving this world, but only his own. Because it had been a while since he had reached the point in which he couldn't imagine his life without her and nothing changed ever since.

-.-.-  
Notes:  
If you feel like the angst is lasting too long, I feel the same. We should return to the happier Flash note, right? This isn't really my home turf ;) I promise a switch in POV and atmosphere, at least a little.


	12. The more the merrier

**12\. The more the merrier **

Silence settled on the STAR Labs again; not quiet peace and calm, but silence. Cisco was glad they had the worst part behind them – no more creepy walk in bad guys' consciousness, at least for now. It also helped that he had unwillingly napped about a three guys back, unknowing of the fact they had been the last ones, and Barry had stopped for a coffee for all of them to celebrate on his way back.

Cisco sat in his swirling chair with a caramel late in his hand, no one calling him out on slurping for once, and life was good.

Almost perfect. Except something… something-

"Oh my god! Vera ruined my love for Jitters' caramel latté! She bewitched me!" he yelped, setting the late down exasperatedly.

"You can make sure to tell her that when she wakes up…" Barry hummed, enjoying his second Flash coffee (and no, Cisco still couldn't get over the fact that Jitters had named a drink after the Central City hero).

A sigh sounded from the door to the med bay as Matt, the lone Devil, shuffled their way. He didn't have coffee yet. Thinking about it, he hadn't drink much since they had arrived. Or eaten.

"Why _hasn't_ she woken up yet?" the vigilante asked quietly, his voice sounding bone-tired.

"I'm not sure. We didn't detect any drug in her bloodstream, though we're waiting for the results of the new brain scans – we were looking for some drug that could have targeted her amygdala, hippocampus or prefrontal cortex and could have got stuck there without traces in her blood. We already know there's no swelling on her brain, and the x-ray shows no signs of severe trauma, but she probably _did_ hit her head. The blood transfusion helped a lot, but still, she suffered from serious blood loss and went through psychical trauma. If she's not waking up, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Human body is sometimes smarter than we think – she'll wake up when she's ready. Until then, we'll be monitoring her and you're welcomed to stay, Matt."

Matt charmed a tiny smile for the doctor standing behind Cisco.

"Thank you, Doctor Snow. I—I can't tell how grateful I am. I'll never be able to thank you enough."

"You can start by calling me Caitlin…" she hummed, playful. "…and by taking a picture in your armour with Cisco, because if you don't, we'll never hear the end of his complaints."

Cisco immediately straightened in his seat. "Seconded. I want a photo!"

"I think that part can be arranged… I won't be able to thank you properly either. Or you," Matt emphasized as he turned to Barry.

"Hey, we took down a bad guy. What's better than that? Plus, fellow heroes, right? We help each other out."

"I don't really think of myself as a hero. But thank you."

Cisco almost choked on his drink at the note. "Dude! How can you not? Plus, the whole blind thing makes you like hundred times cooler!"

"Oh, which reminds me… would mind I took your brain scans later? The way your brain areas must be working could be quite fascinating. I mean, you use your other senses to compensate, right? Your auditory cortex must be incredibly developed. Or maybe your area of sight still works, changed its function-"

"Cait, I think you're scaring him," Barry interrupted her gently, making way too visible 'cut it' gesture around his neck with his free hand.

A mild smile from the blind man answered them.

"No, it's… it's okay. I can do that. You're a scientist. It's probably natural you're curious about it. And if I'm letting someone scan my brain, I rather let it do someone I trust. You gave me more than enough reasons to trust you. You helped me, you saved Vera's life, you're taking care of her, you're offering me a place to stay and you took down the man who was plotting against me for months. You can run as many tests as you want. But… please wait after she wakes up."

"Of course. She's the priority. Now, how about some food? We haven't eaten properly since this mess started."

Cisco's stomach grumbled in response. He hadn't realized how hungry he had been until Caitlin pointed it out.

"What do you feel like? Chinese? Pizza?" Barry offered, already rising from his seat.

"Oh god, get me some delicious pizza," Cisco moaned, caressing his empty stomach. Pizza sounded heavenly right now.

"Sure, pizza sounds nice. Matt?" Caitlin queried gently. Matt only shook his head.

"Nothing for me, thank you."

"Matt, you need to eat. I know you're worried about her, but starving yourself won't help her anyhow," the doctor admonished him, this time earning a resigned sigh.

"Peperoni?"

"Man after my own heart," Cisco praised him, nodding to Barry to let him know he wanted the same.

"Cait?"

"I guess margharita will work."

"You got it. I'll be here soon. Anything else while I'm out?" Barry scanned the room, only to realize Harry had made his leave without a word. Cisco mentally rolled his eyes at the scientist's behaviour.

"Do you think you could somehow get contact lenses on your way back? -5D and -4,5. And some supplies?" Matt requested bashfully, making Barry's face lit up with realization.

"Oh. Yeah, sure."

"Thank you."

"No prob. I'll be back before you know it." And with those words, the speedster was gone.

It turned out Barry was wrong – probably not counting on the fact the pizza had to be _made_ without superspeed. He still wasn't back when Matt, already back to Vera's bedside, visibly tensed, his hands curling up in fists.

"A woman around 25 years old and a man around 45 are entering. Is that alright?" he asked. Cisco lazily reached for the keyboard to check despite knowing who it could be. "Wait, he has a gun-"

Oh jeez, Cisco would not get over the level of Matt's abilities any time soon. He could tell if the person had a gun at such distance? _Wow_.

"Man, that's crazy," he uttered, while the screen showed him the newcomers. "But you can calm down, it's just Iris and Joe. They're friends, Barry's family. And Joe's a cop, hence the gun."

Matt just nodded, his body relaxing immediately, shoulders slumping. He returned his attention to his fiancée.

The clicking of Barry's adoptive sister's heels in the hall announced their arrival.

"Hey guys. Harry told us you came back. What happened? Where's Barry?" Iris worried, dark eyes flickering between Cisco and- "Oh. And who's that?"

Caitlin hurried from the infirmary, while Matt might have turned his head in their direction, but refused to stand up and leave Vera's side.

"Hey, Iris. Joe," she nodded at them losing her gloves.

"We made friends," Cisco explained shortly, eyeing the vigilante. "That's Matt and Vera."

The black woman blinked, not following. Joe looked dubious as well. Cisco didn't blame them – why would they take two strangers to the STAR Labs? The secret base of the Flash? Right?

"And they are here because…?" Joe wondered, voice wary.

"Because I came to your friends for help," Matt answered, walking to them. "My name is Matt Murdock."

Iris opened her mouth without a sound coming out, slightly confused at the red lenses of his glasses covering his eyes, and she vaguely gestured around her own.

"Yes, I am blind."

Iris immediately changed her expression into an embarrassed one. "Sorry. I'm Iris West. Barry's adoptive sister."

Matt gave her an inconspicuous smile, extending his hand. Iris smiled too, shaking it.

"Detective Joe West, adoptive father." They shook hands too, Joe still guarded.

And then there was a shuffle of wind and smell of pizza filled the lab.

"Barry!" Joe shouted, horrified.

"Iris, Joe, hey!"

Iris ran to Barry, attacking him with a hug. Good thing Barry set the pizza boxes and supplies for Vera down first.

"Barry, you're my hero," Cisco cheered, making his way to the food.

"Bar, what-" Joe started, glancing at Matt pointedly, but Barry grinned over Iris' shoulder.

"It's okay, Joe. He knows."

"What?! How?! Why?!" Iris immediately questioned, retreating from their hug all too quickly.

The same moment, Matt spun on his heels and paced back to the infirmary – before he could reach it, a deafening scream cut the air.

Cisco dropped his pizza slice, yelping, hand shooting up to his chest. The rest of the team jumped too.

Vera was sitting on the bed, screaming at the top of her lungs, until Matt took her face to his palms, hopefully making sure she was looking at him. His voice was urgent, but soft, gentle, trying to sooth her.

"_Vera, Vera, it's me, you're okay, you're safe. I got you, shhh, I got you…"_ Waterfall of words kept flowing from his mouth, the terrible sound of horror dying in her throat.

Barry was at the end of Vera's bed, apparently reaching it faster than Matt had, not leaving since. But there was no danger. She must have only had a nightmare – probably reliving her time with Fisk or something. Ouch.

Vera was fighting for air furiously, her fingers digging into Matt's forearm. She was crying. Not few solitude tears, not the damsel-in-distress crying, but the ugly crying, hysterical, and she was holding onto Matt's forearm like onto a dear life despite the fact it must have hurt like hell, probably causing the stitches in her forearm to pop. Not that Cisco blamed her. In the back of his mind, he actually sighed in relief, because her vocal cords really seemed intact. Also, she was _awake._

Cisco finally relaxed , sinking to his chair and tearing his gaze away as Barry left the couple alone too. Cisco noticed the contacts and supplies disappeared from the table.

"What the hell?" Iris breathed, her hand falling from her chest as well.

"Uhm… she's been kidnapped. Barry saved her, took down the bad guy and we also erased few of his memories. We took the couple in," Caitlin gave them the shortest possible version and Iris with Joe just stared.

"You were saving someone?! When did you even get your abilities back anyway?" Joe asked, shocked and with an accusing tone in his voice. He probably worried about his adoptive son – not that Cisco blamed him. Few days earlier, Barry was barely able to walk.

"It was a gradual thing," Barry just shrugged, reaching for his pizza. Cisco took it as permission, raising his fallen slice from the box, finishing it.

"You need to fill in some blanks for us," Joe demanded, apparently offended by their calm.

"She saved my life, Joe. A robbery went down when we were in a café and I had a gun aimed at me. She talked the gunman into taking her instead of me."

"And then she kicked his ass," Cisco supplied helpfully, unable to hold back his admiration for her badassery.

"And then she kicked his ass," Caitlin confirmed with a smile. It didn't escape Cisco's attention that she didn't even touch her pizza, probably expecting Matt to ask for her medical service soon. Again.

"Really?"

All of them glanced at the girl now hiding in Matt's arms, curled up in his embrace, her body shaking. Feeling like an intruder, Cisco looked away.

"She looks like she's been through hell," Iris noted, voice soft with compassion, eyeing Barry.

"Well… I think I might have nightmares only from what I heard when the baddie called Matt, so… and I saw some of those cuts. We can only imagine what she had been through in the three hours we missed."

"Three hours? She's been with the kidnapper only three hours and— _Jesus._ Who was he?" Iris continued, the journalist in her subtly showing.

"Ever heard of Wilson Fisk?" Cisco hummed.

"Rings a bell. Not sure why," Joe replied, confused.

"Criminal kingpin of New York City. That guy right there? He was one of the lawyers who put him away, apparently separating him from his evil wife-y in the process," Barry explained, finishing his first pizza. Cisco knew how much he needed to eat, but _where was he putting all the stuff? _"Fisk broke free. And the first thing he did? Coming after her."

"Revenge."

"Yeah."

"And erasing his memory?" Joe pried, not quite following.

"He knew things no bad guy should know. Or, well, anyone apart from few chosen ones," Cisco explained, not elaborating. It wasn't his place to give away Matt's double life. Neither was Barry's or Caitlin's. But he couldn't help himself calling them the chosen ones; his inner fanboy was showing and he didn't care.

He looked back to the med bay only when he peripherally glimpsed a figure shuffling their way. He tilted his head curiously when he saw Matt's resigned expression, disagreement all over his face.

"Uhm... you mind coming up there? She… she'd like to talk to you if that's okay," Matt whispered, sounding as if he had been through hell and Cisco suspected he was. He knew enough vigilantes to recognize a man blaming himself for everything they could think of.

"Of course," Caitlin responded kindly, eyeing Cisco and Barry, who shrugged. Well. Cisco wouldn't want to see strangers after just waking up from a nightmare, but hey, who was he to judge. "If that's what she wants."

They all headed to the bed, Joe and Iris in the back, reluctant.

Matt seated himself next to the bed, delicately tucking Vera's hair behind her ear. As for the girl herself, she didn't look so good. She was pale, watching her surrounding with puffy red-shot eyes, heavily leaning onto the cushions as Matt managed to push the upper part of her bed higher.

Her sheepish gaze rounded them all, taking the large amount of people as if she just realized she had overestimated her ability to deal with company momentarily.

"Uhm. Sorry. Hi," she rasped, raising her bandaged hand awkwardly and a ghost of a smile appeared on Matt's lips at the gesture.

Cisco grinned. Despite everything, she _somehow_ seemed… fine. Well, fine as when Barry was saying he was 'fine' right before fainting, but… she looked stable. Which… wow. New wave of respect for her almost overwhelmed him; mostly, it cheered him up though.

"Morning, Sunshine," he greeted her, earning the best reaction he could hope for.

A blush coloured her scarily white face and she only met his eyes for a second before she looked at the floor.

"Still engaged, Cisco. Not to be a buzzkiller, but happily too, I think," Barry hinted him helpfully, crossing his arms on his chest. Amusement was playing in his irises.

"Damn. I guess I'll just have to ask out Kendra then," Cisco played along, while Vera bit her lip as if she was holding back a smile. Cisco could only guess the emotional roller-coaster she found herself at.

"Who's Kendra?" Caitlin pried.

"Oh, wait. I know. The barista at Jitters. You certainly have a type, huh?" Barry teased and it was Cisco's turn to feel embarrassed.

He gaped. "I— maybe."

When he looked at Vera again, she was actually inconspicuously smiling. She was apparently glad they weren't just awkwardly staring at her. She cleared her throat.

"Uhm… so. I don't have much info, but… Matt said something about saving me?"

He had managed to tell her already? Damn.

"You're welcome," Barry hummed, smiling at her kindly, with the Flash' 'it's nothing'TM smile.

"I… thank you. Thank you so much. I—I don't really know what happened, but… I remember your voice, I think," she beckoned to Barry's direction. "You're the one who got me out, aren't you?"

"Yes. Barry Allen, at your service," the speedster gave a tiny bow to raise the spirit.

"Caramel latté with extra sugar. Yeah," Vera stated, mentally cataloguing them. Interesting. "And… you stitched me up?"

"Yes. I'm Doctor Caitlin Snow," Caitlin confirmed, her eyes assessing Vera's condition, inconspicuously to an untrained eye. But Cisco knew her, okay. She was in her 'doctor mode'.

"I never got to take your order."

"Well, you stepped in front of a gun instead of me, so I think we can call it even."

Matt straightened, anger flashing in his face at the memory. Vera cleared her throat, her eyes darkening at the memory as well.

"True. And _you_ have a type. I don't understand what… uhm. Well. Matt said something about erasing Fisk's memories?" Vera mused, seemingly utterly confused.

"Yeah. Cisco Ramon. I… I have visions, sometimes. I had one about you making out with- never mind." Iris and Joe shot him incredulous looks and Cisco just bit the inside of his cheek. _Brilliant, Ramon, the perfect time to pull that out._ "Anyway, yeah, we managed to enter Fisk's and few of his minions' minds and erase any memories that presented danger for… you know, the secrecy stuff."

Awe was written all over her face and Cisco couldn't help but feel a bit proud at that.

"That's incredible. Thank you, Cisco."

"You're very welcome. By the way? Incredible is just another Wednesday for us, so…" his face trailed off and he shrugged. In a way, this really wasn't that unusual for them. Crazy, sure, but not unusual.

Her gaze scanned the rest of the room then, falling on the pair she hadn't met before. Iris was the one to spoke up first.

"I'm Iris West. I'm Barry's… friend and sister. Sort of."

Vera smiled at her, nodding in acknowledgment. She didn't pry what the strange relationship status meant. Which was for the best. Both Cisco and Caitlin – probably Joe as well – knew that while they were adoptive siblings, their relationship was… complicated. Especially with Barry's maybe-not-so past crush on the woman.

"Vera Machackova."

"Detective Joe West," the cop introduced then, voice much more relaxed than when he had first learned they knew Barry's secret. Cisco's grin widened – Vera had already got under his skin with her aura of a good person. He loved that.

"Nice to meet you."

"So, introductions were made. How about I check you up? How do you feel?" Caitlin offered, glancing at Matt who nodded resolutely, probably smelling Vera bleeding from her re-opened cuts or something.

"Uhm. Sure, thank you," Vera turned to Caitlin with a grateful smile.

Cisco and the others quickly took the hint and made their way out, so they could leave them some privacy.

"How do _you_ feel, Bar?" Joe pried, eyeing his son.

Barry, who had managed to already start eating again, had the decency to swallow before talking. "Great. All geared up and not hungry anymore. Ready to save lives."

"Well, apparently you already did," Iris commented pointedly, but not unkindly.

Barry grinned in return, winking at Cisco. "That's because I'm not alone."

Cisco just raised his hand to high-five with him. That he wasn't. Not alone indeed. Never. They were a team.

Maybe Matt should consider getting one too. And if no one volunteered for that position… well. Cisco definitely would.


	13. Verdevil

**13\. #Verdevil**

Doctor-patient confidentiality was a thing and Caitlin was a doctor, but apparently, Vera didn't mind her sharing the results with the team Flash.

"She's gonna be fine. Some of the cuts will probably scar, but I gave her the best stuff," she reassured Barry and Cisco as well as the remaining figure of the Wests' family, Iris. "And she will probably have her fair share of nightmares, but that's not the kind of doctor I am. That's on her and on her choices."

Barry only nodded grimly, knowing horrifying memories all too well. Cisco did too. They all did.

"So…" Iris started, crossing her arms on her chest – a clear sign of approaching an unpleasant topic. "This Matt guy. How did he know to come to you for help again?"

"I overheard them talking about Cisco's visions and Barry's speed."

Iris jumped when Matt appeared and spoke up behind her shoulder.

"Jesus, you're like a ghost!" she complained, but quickly spun to the team. "And guys! Come on! Secret identity?"

"I have very good ears, Ms. West," Matt remarked with a mild smile.

"So you can hear you're not making a sound when moving?!"

"…I am making a sound when I'm moving."

"Well, you're apparently the only one who hears it, you're very quiet, that's my point," the reporter murmured, sighing. Then her eyes narrowed suspiciously and Cisco immediately smelled trouble. "Don't want to be rude, but how are you so quiet and so oriented? You know, Barry got blinded recently, but he was nowhere near your… confidence."

Matt seemed surprised when learning the new information. Cisco just grinned when he remembered helping Barry through his literally blind date with Patty.

"Well, I am blind since I was nine years old."

"Still. You came to this lab, what, yesterday or something, you couldn't get familiar with it enough, right? So how are you doing it?"

"Iris…" Barry protested, but Matt raised a hand to stop him.

"She can be trusted, right?"

"YES, I can!" she hissed exasperatedly, her protective side kicking in right after. "I'm not sure about you. You seem to know awfully lot for a stranger and you just happened to get a free ticket here, not to mention you learned the Flash' identity. So I think-"

"Iris-" Barry sighed, while Cisco just watched the woman getting worked up for no real reason. Well, she _did_ have good reasons, actually, but she didn't know her worries were baseless. Because… Matt was a vigilante. A hero. Hell, he had even worked with the Arrow!

To everyone's surprise, Matt hesitantly took off his glasses, watching Iris' chin. She raised her eyebrow questioningly, but seemed convinced about the blind part of Matt's story at least. Not that it satisfied her; freaking reporters…

"…okay?"

"My eyes, they aren't working, not at all. I can't see what colour is your hair or your clothes, but I can tell you're wearing a dress ending slightly above your knees, probably cotton, freshly washed and that your hair are definitely long. I know you had a coffee about two hours ago and you're… you're working in an office, it smells a little like… it's familiar, actually— oh, newspapers. Are you a reporter?"

Iris was staring at the guy in horror, taking a step back. "What the hell?!"

"Matt, stop scaring people," Vera yelled from the door to the infirmary, admonishing him cheerily. She slowly walked to him, very cautiously brushing his hand and kissing his cheek lightly. She looked much better now, recovering quickly – she probably received a fresh dose of painkillers from Caitlin. Matt kissed her temple, his arm wrapping around her waist, probably to make sure she wouldn't fall, masking it as a loving gesture.

Cisco grinned involuntarily. They were totally sweet.

"Seriously. What the hell?! Is he… is he a metahuman?" Iris demanded, outraged.

"Depends on your definition of a metahuman, Ms. West."

"Oh god, stop calling me Ms. West, you know how long it is since I had my last coffee!" she spitted out, half-disgusted half-startled.

"I'm sorry… Iris. That was rude of me. I don't think I am a metahuman per se, no," Matt said enigmatically, his smirk showing he wasn't apologetic for freaking her out in the slightest.

"What is a metahuman? Is that a term for people who are… enhanced in some way?" Vera asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. There was a particle accelerator explosion almost two years ago – and the dark matter that was released with it, gave several people powers," Caitlin summed it up in plain English.

"That's how Barry got his speed. And that's how you're getting visions."

"Yep," Cisco hummed in confirmation.

"But it only happened in here, right?"

Cisco eyed Vera curiously. Why would she be asking that? "As far as we know."

She eyed Matt, seemingly lost in thoughts. "Oh… okay then."

"I'm still waiting!" Iris complained, throwing her hands in the air just a little.

"I lost my sight when I was nine. The chemicals that blinded me also gave me heightened senses. I can't see, not with my eyes, but everything else is incredibly amplified," Matt explained and Cisco couldn't tell he didn't get excited immediately. So, this was his heroic backstory, huh?

The engineer could tell Iris' curiosity was satisfied, for now at least.

"So you can tell when I had my coffee. Wow. That's terrible. How good your hearing is? And your other senses? How do you live like this?"

Matt sighed as if he was answering that question for the millionth time – which he probably was. Cisco was glad he was here to hear it, thought he had already got a pretty good idea of just how strong Matt's abilities were.

"I was able to tell Vera was waking up because I heard not only the heart monitor, but also her heart speeding up."

"What?!" Iris shrieked. "That's crazy. Seriously, how do you live like this?"

"It's not always easy. There are things that help. People..." he hesitated and Vera melted to his side at the note. Seriously, almost _sickeningly_ sweet. Cisco felt kinda jealous. "And I had several years to adjust. That's all you're getting from me. The important thing is – I promise I don't mean any harm here. Barry's secret is safe with me as I hope mine is safe with all of you."

"Huh."

Barry was watching the affection shown between the pair too, grinning goofily. He was a shipper, after all. And this? They had a superhero and his girl. Matt and Vera. Hm… Mattra? Veratt? Vatt? Mara? It was difficult to come up with a nickname... _unless_. Daredevil and Vera. Darera? Verdevil?

Cisco beamed, finally content. Verdevil it was.

"Cisco!"

"What?" he jumped as Iris addressed him loudly. Speaking of loud… 'Run the World' was blasting from his phone. He rolled his eyes. He wanted to change this particular personal ringtone ages ago; mostly because he hadn't been the one to set it in the first place.

He accepted the call and grinned when he saw the person calling him.

"Hey, Felicity."

"Cisco! Where are you? I have an alert on the Flash and there are rumours he collared Wilson Fisk few hours ago?! What the hell are you— wait, are you in STAR Labs? What the hell?!"

Cisco just snickered at the speed the blonde was talking with. "Are hacking my GPS as we speak? Rude. And it's a long story. Just for you to know, I'm putting you on speaker. It's me, Caitlin, Barry, Iris, Matt and Vera."

Felicity's confused voice echoed in the whole room. "Matt and- what? What is Vera and Matt— uhm. Hey, everyone, I guess."

"Hi, Felicity," Vera greeted her, smiling.

"Can anyone explain me this mess?"

"Team Flash saved me. After Matt found them and asked them for help."

"Saved you from… Fisk," Felicity wavered and the sigh that escaped her lips was tired. "Right. And by 'found them', you mean…?"

"Long story," Matt cut her off swiftly and the message was clear – change the subject. Everyone got it.

Except the reporter in the room. Naturally. She turned to the Verdevil pair. _(Oh man, what a ship name!)_

"How do you even know Felicity?"

Vera didn't miss a beat.

"I met her when she was with her boss on a business trip to New York City. She's actually the one who recommended the café I work in to Cisco, Barry and Caitlin – which technically means she saved my life too. Thanks, Felicity!" Vera answered cheerily, effectively shifting the mood in the room.

Even Iris relaxed this time.

"You're welcome, Vera," Felicity noted, a bit confused. "How is the wedding planning?"

At that, Vera's fingers twitched, her face paling a little. Her bandaged hands brushed each other on instinct, as she realized she had no ring on her finger.

Cisco rushed to calm her down. _"Safe and sound in the nightstand,"_ he hissed barely audible, the tension in Vera shoulders easing, but not resolving.

"Well… we, uhm… we didn't have m-much time for that, but we're working on it," the barista stuttered, clearly uncomfortable.

Iris narrowed her eyes in suspicion again. Cisco internally groaned and cleared his throat to change topic once more.

"So, anyway. We're okay. Barry is running around, sunshine and rainbow all over."

"Yeah, about that. Bartholomew Henry Allen, we're talking about not telling be about having your back broken later!" the blonde thundered over the speaker and Barry shot Cisco a panicked and betrayed look.

Well. He could apologize to his super-friend later. He had done it to cover for another friend by changing the topic.

"Your back was broken?!" Vera yelped, horrified. "As in…?"

Barry nodded solemnly. "It caused me to lose my powers for a while, I couldn't even walk for few days. That's why we were in New York in the first place – vacation, recreation, rehab."

Vera gave him a dubious look as if she couldn't understand why would anyone come to Hell's Kitchen to relax. Which was… fair. "Well, glad it worked… no matter the questionable methods."

"Me too," Barry grinned, at ease.

"Okay. Guess you have enough on your plate right now, I'll call later and you're explaining me _everything_. I'm glad you're okay, Vera. Take care of her, Matt."

Matt made a face, exhaustion clear even with the dark glasses back on, and rubbed his forehead. "Believe me, Felicity. I'm _trying."_

"Yeah, it's a full time job, huh? Hope I'll see you again – under better circumstances than the last time. Also, take care of yourself, remember what we talked about. Bye!"

"_What you talked about?"_ Vera parroted once the call was over, not following. Also, consider Cisco intrigued. What had Matt and Felicity could possibly talk about?

"_Than the last time?"_ Iris questioned, sensing another catastrophe.

"Just… don't ask. _Don't_ ask," Vera emphasized, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Then she lighted up a bit, a hint of red in her cheeks. It was a good look on her. "Speaking of full plates… any chance I could have something to eat? I'm actually starving and the pizza you had smells delicious…"

"Mine's still free," Matt offered with a kiss to Vera's hair. Cisco and Barry exchanged a glance of devoted shippers – gone was the awkward tension after the wedding question.

"My hero." She brushed his cheek with her bandaged hand, her touch feather-light, wary of her injuries, and rewarded him with a chaste kiss on his lips.

Cisco wrote down the ship name, passing the paper to Barry to check it out.

"_You still got it,"_ Barry praised with a grin and they high-fived again, making Caitlin roll her eyes as she saw what Cisco had written.

Iris shot them a curious gaze, but Cisco just grinned and shook his head. Nope, this was not for Ms. West eyes.

Yet.

Something told him that it was only a matter of time before the reporter would put two and two together. He hoped it would at least go well.

As much as an identity reveal could.

**-.-.-Vera-.-.-**

Eating was… exhausting. When she had asked about food, she didn't realize that eating anything that required using her hands – which was, _everything –_ would utterly suck. Matt had to practically feed her. It was humiliating to say at least, but she was too hungry and too tired to care.

Right after finishing, her eyelids started feeling heavy – again –, as if she hadn't slept for two days or so. She knew psychical exhaustion was to blame as well. As amazing as the team Flash was, she couldn't ignore their worried glances. And Matt…

Matt was holding a lot of things back, she could tell. She could only imagine how guilty he felt about the whole thing. She didn't waste her breath to tell him it wasn't his fault. They both knew that to an extent, he could probably be blamed, but unlike him, Vera was realizing that she was responsible for her choices and if she was pissed at someone, it was Fisk.

Her heart clenched in fear at the name. She had spent enough time with Matt to learn how to put on a mask, learning from the best. She was trying her best to look okay and while thought she might have fooled everyone else, she was damn sure she hadn't fooled Daredevil. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him and her hands and arms throbbed despite the painkillers. She dreaded falling asleep again, but she couldn't show it. Not now.

So instead, she called Terri, knowing her friends must have been on edge.

"…Vera?" sounded shyly from the speaker and Vera couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Ter."

"You're awake! That's amazing! When did that happen?! How are you? Where are you? I'm coming. Right now!"

Vera managed only blink at the fire of words. "Uhm… I'm only awake for few hours. Matt fed me a pizza about half an hour back... and I'm- safe."

The one small word changed the tone of the whole conversation at instant and Vera realized her mistake all too late. She was glad she had excused herself from the med bay and hoped to god Matt wasn't listening in, falling asleep when she told him to wait for her in his bed – which had been conveniently pushed towards hers.

"…Terri?" Vera whispered when her friend didn't react, only hearing her breathing quicken.

"I'm so sorry, Vera. I'm… I'm so sorry," she sobbed on the other end of the line and Vera froze. What was Terri sorry for? What did that mean? Did she know something Vera didn't? Something… bad?

She shook her head, scolding herself for being paranoid. Not that she wasn't entitled at this point.

"For?"

"Seriously?" Terri sniffled and Vera's lazy brain started racing. Huh?

"Huh?"

"For not seeing it, you dumbass!"

Oh. _OH. _Oh, Terri…

"You know that's not your fault, right?" Vera reminded her gently, rewarded by another sob. _Alright, change of tactics._ "Theresa! You don't exactly have an on- and off-switch for that thing! Stop blaming yourself for things that aren't under your control this very second! I have enough of that right here! Stop or I'm coming for you and kicking your ass!"

Honestly, Vera surprised herself with how sharp she got. Terri only replied her with stunned silence.

"Uhm… sorry, that was a bit-"

"Forget it. You can be scary. I need to get over it. Thanks," Terri chuckled, tears still present in her voice.

"Yeah, don't remind me…" Vera murmured under her breath, memories of her encounter with Fisk still fresh in her mind. What the hell she had been doing? Had she really been encouraging him? To _kill_ her? What was _wrong_ with her?!

"How… how are you, Vera? Honestly, please."

Vera sighed, tears reflexively welling up in her eyes at her friend's genuine care. She let them roll down her cheeks, slowly allowing the front she had put up crumble.

"…Vera?"

"I'm fine," she creaked, heavily falling into a chair. This must have been Cisco's workshop, right? There was Arrow's action figure. She released a wet chuckle when she noticed it.

"Right. I already spoke with Mrs. Walker-"

"Terri, I'm fine!" Vera hissed, not liking hat was crawling out from behind the walls she had built.

"Sure you are. You haven't been kidnapped and tortured at all," Terri remarked sarcastically, causing Vera's mind being filled with her own screams, Fisk's sly smile, dark cold room, and pain, God, so, _so _much agony- "Spill it. Cry about it. Yell at me. Do whatever you want and can, just try not to hurt yourself further. Alright? Screw if Matt can hear you. Get it the fuck out."

Vera squeezed her eyes shut at the direct orders, wanting to do all of the things Terri mentioned. Scream. Cry. Hit something. Crawl into a bed, hide under her covers and never leave them again. She wanted a hug. She wanted a drink. She wanted to sleep, but nightmares-free. She wanted her stitches to stop pulling at her skin so painfully, she wanted to forget the horrors she had been through and she just wanted to be back at home with her brother and mum and dad, with their ridiculously named puppy, she wanted to return to the moments on Marky's wedding, care-free, and mostly, she just wanted her life to be normal for a second, her biggest problem being that it was a rainy afternoon and she couldn't watch a chick-flick movie, buried in blankets, because she ran out of Nutella and it wasn't the same without it.

Terri asked her to let it all out. So Vera did.

Matt found her an eternity later, crumbled half-asleep in Cisco's chair. Her cheeks were still wet from her tears, salty reminder of how much she was suffering. She was in such temper that even breathing seemed to be too much of an effort and she just didn't manage to look strong for him. She was sure he must have heard every word she had said to Terri. Or _yelled. Or chocked out_. Heard every sob and curse as if he was right in the room with her the whole time.

Vera could see how much the 'sight' of her punched him in his gut, it was written all over his face. Yet, he didn't say a word, silently taking her to his arms and carrying her to bed.

Something resembling 'I'm okay,' left her lips, but she wasn't sure if he could understand. The moment she felt her body being lowered to bed, she returned to the land of dreams.

-.-.-

Notes:  
I know I promised it would get less angsty and heavy, but this needed to be done. It _will_ get better now, I swear ;)


	14. Blind spot

**14\. Blind spot**

Vera woke up to an angsty-looking Matt sitting by her bed instead of sleeping in his own, clearly going full martyr on her.

She had slept a dreamless sleep to her relief and seeing guilty Matt was enough to crack her neutral mood and push it towards annoyance. He breathed in when he noticed her watching, but she was faster.

"Try me, Murdock. I just had a nice nap and I'm in a relatively good mood. So, _try me,"_ she grumbled, challenging him.

He took the hint, shutting his mouth, only for it to form an unhappy line, his kicked puppy eyes still somewhat on her. Vera yawned, rubbing her sleepy eyes with the heels of her hands – she realized she still had bandages on them only when they made contact with her eyelids.

"Huh." Whatever pain-killers they had pumped into her, they were _very effective._

Matt still didn't say a word and Vera spared another glance at him. He seemed… restless, straining himself from doing something, itching with need. Vera was confident she knew him at this point and she knew exactly what was on his mind. She sighed.

"Okay, Matt. Okay. Say it," she nudged him softly, his shoulders slumping at the quiet plea.

"I'm so sorry," he creaked, tears glistering in his eyes as if on command and Vera's heart clenched.

Yeah, she had a very shitty past few days. Yes, his martyrdom was bordering with Jesus' himself. But she understood, kinda. She was aware he needed this.

She took a deep breath, bracing herself for a speech, her mind racing with the effort of let her feeling into words so they would come out the right way. Her bandaged hand brushed over his clenched fist; he blinked in surprise at the gesture. _Oh Matty._

"I know you are, Matt. This is… it sucks, okay? But it's done. It happened. I'll probably never forget this. I might be looking over my shoulder for a while, looking for the actual Devil being on my back. But—our friends took care of it. You took care of it-"

He snorted at that, a sound dripping with irony and self-hatred. Vera paid it no mind and continued.

"-and it's okay."

"Don't," he interrupted her, perhaps a bit harshly. She winced at the sound and his voice immediately softened. "I heard you, Vera. I heard you scream, I heard what you… _told_ Terri. Don't you dare to pretend you're okay."

Vera gritted her teeth, an unpleasant and yet so relieving memory of spilling all of her feelings and worries to Terri returning in colours.

"Good. Then you know I got a lot of things out," she hissed, pushing herself to sit up straight. "Yeah, I'm not okay. Shit, I'm so far from okay I didn't know was possible. But I'm not you. I'm not gonna tell you I'm fine, I never said that. I said that _it's_ okay. And eventually… I'm gonna be okay too. Not perfect. Just… okay."

An indefinable sound left his lips, something between a whimper and a growl and Vera was honestly shocked he still could express himself in a way she hadn't seen or heard before. Not that this display of his emotions was very descriptive.

She bit her lip. Time for the grand finale. She gulped and for her own benefit, she looked right into his eyes – still glassy.

"And I know you might not believe me, but try to believe my heart. I'm not lying. I did some stupid things when he had me, said things that… probably antagonized him-" Vera whispered, lump growing in her throat at the memories, the cold fear and rage coiling her guts. She quickly shook it off and raised her hand to stop Matt from protesting against her words. "Yes, my connection to you… it sure as hell played a part of what happened. But guess what, Murdock…"

Realization lighted up his eyes and he motioned his head in a clear disagreement. "Vera-"

"I forgive you."

His eyelids fell shut, the tears pooling in them for so long finally escaping. Vera squeezed his hands as much as she could without hurting herself. Mat's chest was rising and falling wildly with harsh breaths, his jaw tight, but he didn't say a word against her forgiveness.

Vera was proud of him. She could tell emotions were raging in him now; yet, he tried his best to accept her words and to figure out what was he gonna do about it. No rejection. No protests. No arguing – not with her, only with himself.

His eyes slowly opened, gentle brown and gold blind as ever, yet seeing her.

"I'll…" Matt's voice sounded way too hoarse, but Vera waited patiently until he cleared his throat and continued. "I'll try my best to earn that forgiveness. I promise you, Vera."

Her lips curled up unwittingly and warmth spread in her chest. Yeah, that was how it was supposed to be.

"I wouldn't expect any less."

He attempted a smile, turning out as a strange tiny raise of the corners of his lips, but Vera was grateful for that nevertheless. His smile turned tender than, more of the Matt she adored. They would be okay. She might be a bit broken, but… they would be okay.

"I love you," he declared in low voice, leaning in to press a light kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyed contentedly.

"I love you too, Matty."

He visibly shuddered at the pet name, planting another kiss on the top of her head. "Now get in here in my bed. And for your information, my lips aren't injured."

He chuckled, the sound little cracked, but as he obediently climbed beside her, he acknowledged the fact and met her lips, shortly at first, commenting on it before he gave her a proper kiss.

"Duly noted."

Vera was snapped out from her dozing by a deafening blare of an alarm.

Both her and Matt jolted awake, him instantly on his feet and his fists raised. If Vera was more conscious and less on edge, she might even laugh at the way his feet tangled in the sheet and nearly send him face-planting on the floor. Now, her heart was going like crazy, fear tickling her spine unpleasantly.

"Sorry, sorry!" Cisco shouted from the cortex, the terrible noise dying instantly. "Barry, robbery on the corner of 47th and Straight Avenue! Go for it!"

Vera only glanced a streak of lightning in the main room, a gust of wind hitting her face. Matt relaxed by her side, lowering his fists, but making his way to the computers. Vera followed him, excited to see Team Flash in action – as if in different action than to save her life. After all, she hadn't quite been right in her mind at that time anyway.

"Alright Barry, where is our little thief?" Cisco asked, leaned towards a little microphone on the desk.

"The _little_ thief? Probably the same who has stolen jewellery worth twenty thousands of dollars or so, so far?" Caitlin hummed next to him and the engineer just rolled his eyes.

Vera watched them intrigued and carefully made her way behind Cisco shoulder, silently checking with Caitlin if it was alright. Clearly, it was. A red dot was moving quickly through the streets on the screen and Vera couldn't tell she wasn't amazed.

How could a person be so fast?

"Semantics. Barry, talk to us."

The dot circled another, steady one, of which Vera assumed was the location. Barry was checking if the thief wasn't in the area, she realized.

"He's gone," Barry's annoyed voice sounded from the speakers, the red dot widening its range of laps.

How many kilometres Barry usually ran during a day? Jeez.

"Again?!" Caitlin cried out exasperatedly.

"Yep. I just searched the ten block area, no way he could have got farer. No trace. Dammit!"

Vera barely managed to shot Matt a look, curious if he was as awed as she was – nope, he seemed to be listening to things she couldn't hear, again – and another gust of wind attacked her, the Flash suddenly standing in the centre of the room.

_No. Ty. Vole. _

That was a very tight red suit. The cowl with lightning bolts on Barry's ears looked a little dorky, in a sweet way; he round emblem in another bolt on his chest held majesty though.

"He's like a ghost," Barry complained, pushing the cowl away, revealing his cutely ruffled hair. It reminded Vera of Matt when losing his helmet and yep, it was just as adorable.

"That's why I _named_ him the Ghost," Cisco pointed out cheekily.

Vera shook her head so she would stop staring at the superhero and instead asked the obvious question. "What's all that about?"

"Oh, just a guy-"

"Could be a girl, you know," Caitlin interrupted Cisco, earning an annoyed grimace from the man. She grinned in return and the corners of Vera's lips twitched. Friendship goals.

"Whatever."

"They never leave a trace," Barry explained, throwing his hand in the air animatedly. "Nothing on traffic cameras. No fingerprints. Hell, not even a heat signature. It's a CSI's nightmare, alright."

"How about everyone's nightmare?" Cisco grumbled.

"_Figures_. So… he's- I mean, _them_, they are metahuman?" Vera pried, interested.

It wasn't that she didn't have enough excitement in her life, or a lack of vigilante stories. This was just… different. Fascinating.

"Maybe. Or they have really, _really_ advanced tech," Barry offered an alternative.

"And you never vibed him either?"

"Nope. Invisible bastard," Cisco complained, leaning onto his chair.

Silence fell on the Cortex, stretching in the space. The wheels turning in everyone's head could be heard. Glances were exchanged and Vera realized that Matt was being quiet. _Too quiet._

"Matt, no," Vera broke the silence, the sudden noise making Cisco jump.

Vera would swear she heard Matt's internal '_Matt, yes.'_

"I didn't say anything!" he exclaimed, raising his hands in defence.

"You didn't have to!"

He wanted to help. Of course he wanted to help. But the idea of him going against a _metahuman_ was not very appealing, no matter how interesting the whole concept of them was.

"Well, there could be something they are missing and maybe I won't-"

"Excuse me, this isn't some shitty police tech we're talking about." Cisco interrupted Matt, which gained him a wounded look from the CSI Barry Allen. "This is some hi-tech stuff. _My_ _stuff_. No way it could have missed anything."

How else do you fight a person who isn't seen? An idea was blooming in Vera's head, maybe a bit crazy, but… what wasn't crazy these days?

Caitlin bit her lip, hesitant. "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try."

"What's wrong with you, Snow? This isn't friendship. You take that back!" Cisco cried out, theatrically clutching his heart.

"Vera, you're quiet," Matt remarked, this time him being the suspicious one. He slowly walked to her. "Your heart's going crazy. I don't like that. What you're thinking?"

"Sucks, doesn't it?" she bit back, earning a raised eyebrow, which made her sigh. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, by the way. Actually… I'm thinking…" she lowered her voice. "…Terri."

Matt tilted his head, intrigued. "Why?"

As the team watched them, Vera realized that they deserved their trust. What she was about to hint wasn't her secret to tell, but she believed it would be for a good cause. She took a deep breath, praying Terri wouldn't hate her if they figured it out instantly, Which they probably would. They were kinda geniuses.

"I… have a friend and- they might be able to see something…? They can absolutely be trusted. While there's no way I want them in danger, but… just imagining what a blast they would have in the first place. Meeting the freaking Flash. And the visions you are getting, Cisco… you know. They never had anyone to talk about that. Not really. Maybe…"

"…so she _is_ getting visions!" Cisco yelled victoriously and Vera rolled her eyes. _Of_ _course _he had already suspected. She didn't know how, but she wasn't even surprised anymore, she guessed.

"Yes," Vera admitted, sighing.

"I wanna meet her super-self too. Maybe think of a cool nickname for her."

Caitlin and Barry groaned, making Vera laugh. Yeah, Terri might actually like that.

"So… you guys would be okay with her coming here?"

Cisco's smile was nearly smug. "Yeah, Vera. We really would."


	15. See all evil

_Dialogue heavy, but with Terri and Cisco, so… can't be too heavy, right? Or…can it? _

_Cisco's POV shifting into Terri's. _

-.-.-.-.-

**15\. See all evil**

Vera didn't seem surprised at how quickly Terri agreed to come. Cisco was. Also, he was basically jumping on spot.

He had been right; Terri had powers. She was getting _visions, _just like him. He would have someone to talk to, someone who might actually understand _and_ wasn't a villain. Life was beautiful.

The moment Vera had called her best friend and put her on speaker, asking her if she would come, the enthusiasm was almost palpable.

"_Great. Barbara already agreed to take my shifts," _the woman announced cheerily and Cisco cackled when Vera rolled her eyes at that.

"Of course you already asked," she deadpanned.

"_Of course I already asked. So, when can I come to your mysterious location? Right now?"_

Barry waved at Vera to get her attention and smirked before mouthing: "Does she get motion sickness?"

Vera's lips twitched too when she must have realized what was he up to and replied in low voice. "Not that I know off."

"Are you in the café, Ter? I'll send someone to pick you up."

"_On my way home from grocery shopping, why?" _With a swish of wind, Barry was gone.

"_And what do you mean-"_ the barista started, but never finished the sentence.

"He does realize that she will have no toiletries and clothes if he just grabs her, right?" Caitlin noted and Vera grimaced as she realized her mistake. "Don't worry, I'll lend her something."

"Thanks."

There was a mess of voices and noise on the other end of the line and then they all heard Barry's vibrating voice.

"_Hello, . I'm here to pick you up."_

"_Holy. Shit."_

And with that, the call was over. Vera chuckled, earning a kiss to her temple from Matt. A minute later, there were two more people in the Cortex.

One of them cocky and the other one gaping, messy hair and a little backpack pressed to her chest.

"What the hell just happened?!" the orange-hair woman blurted out, staring at the man in the red suit, his grin visible even with the cowl.

"Hi, Ter," Vera raised one of her bandaged hands, attempting a wave with an awkward smile.

"Vera!" Terri yelped, dropping the backpack on the ground carelessly and pacing to her as if she wanted to either punch her or hug her – only to realize neither was a good idea. Her hands uselessly hover above her, until she found a safe painless way of embracing her friend shortly. "Oh _my god_, you look like shit! I'm so-"

"If you finish that sentence, I swear I'll char you with my laser eyes."

"You have laser eyes?" Barry honest to god squeaked.

Matt sighed and muttered something that sounded awfully like 'too much time with Jessica' and Terri spun to the man who spoke in a speed that would make the Flash himself proud.

Cisco couldn't say he wasn't intrigued as he observed Vera suspiciously. Was is possible? But if she _had_ laser eyes, she would have probably put them to use when Fisk had been using her as his personal Jack-o'-lantern, right?

_Yuck, Ramon, that is such a disgusting metaphor._

"What the—Barry?" Terri let out in disbelief when he pushed the cowl back. She looked around then, only to spot Cisco and Caitlin as well. "Cait- Cis- what the hell is going on? I mean, _obviously_, now I know what the hell, but how did I _not_ make the connection?"

The engineer grinned at her and waved lazily, while the poor girl just gaped back.

"Ter, remember our new friends? That's Caitlin, who is a regular human kind of superhero, then we have Barry, who is The Flash – I have no doubt you know what that means, because you know everything about that stuff – and this is Cisco who is kinda like you."

"You mean witty, attractive and deserving a life promotion because of his trouble-magnet friends?!" she threw back at Vera sarcastically and Barry snorted in amusement.

Cisco, on the other hand, smiled at her brightly.

"Why, _thank you_!"

"You're welcome. Now can someone explain me in plain English? You're the Flash? Like… the superfast Flash? And you just… what, grabbed me and brought me here thanks to your superpowers?" Terri demanded, though she sounded more like she was stating a fact, her hands on her hips. When Barry shrugged, trying his boyish smile that didn't seem to work on her, she turned to Cisco. "And what does 'like me' really mean?"

"First things first. Vera, you don't have laser eyes, do you?"

"No, she doesn't," sounded unison from Matt and Terri, supported by the girl herself, "No, I don't. Private joke."

"Oh. Shame."

Matt shot Cisco a look that made him believe _he_ had laser eyes and Cisco just turned into a pile of dust. He instinctively curled into himself.

"The thing is Cisco… can see things. Like… he's getting visions," Vera whispered hesitantly, earning a wide-eyed look from the other psychic or whatever. Her lips parted.

"I… he- what?"

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Cisco felt a lump grow in his throat. "A little. And only sometimes."

But the barista surprised him, shaking off her shock quickly.

"Get up from your chair."

Cisco blinked. "What?"

"Get. Up."

This time, he gulped, reluctantly obeying – it seemed like he had no other option. The others were wisely quiet, not wanting to interfere. _Yeah, true friendship, thank you, guys._ Was she about to murder him?

Terri did jump him. She threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him in her embrace, almost knocking the wind out of him. If not literally, then at least figuratively.

_What the hell is happening?_

"Dude. That's the part when you hug back," Barry murmured and Cisco automatically returned the affection. Terri tightened her grip in response.

"I want to know _everything_ you're willing to tell me."

Cisco's eyes found Vera who was smiling innocently and a bit apologetically. Cisco relaxed as his mind calmed down, feeling truly relieved he could share his experience with someone who could perhaps understand like anybody else.

He smiled back at Vera and she contentedly leaned onto Matt, happily observing the peculiar reunion.

**-.-.- Terri -.-.-**

They went to a room that looked like a workshop; an already occupied workshop. The tall man in the glasses eyed them and frowned, pacing away.

"Since when we are giving tours here? And where can I buy a ticket?" he lamented, not bothering to even say hi to Terri. "I hope I can at least get a discount when I do…"

The barista called a confused 'hello' after him, shooting Cisco a perplexed look. He just waved it off.

"Don't mind him. He's always grumpy like that – to be fair, he's kinda entitled, but then again all of us are and we're not necessarily dicks all the time…" he babbled, which caused the corners of her lips rise. "Anyway, we should have some privacy here."

"Good," she hummed, curiously eyeing the space. There were so. Many. Things. There were computers, sure, but enormous shelves were lining the wall _and_ divided the space into two smaller spaces, both with a glass board with notes and diagrams she could never hope to comprehend. She _hated _physics. "So… making toys, huh?"

Cisco scratched his nape as he was called out. "Well, I wasn't lying. I just left few things out."

He stuck his hand out then, determined, as if he wanted to start over and introduce himself again.

"My name is Cisco Ramon, but my friends sometimes call me Vibe. I help the Flash, rack criminals and metahumans, I make toys to make our life easier and occasionally I help the police. It's nice to meet you."

Terri melted, accepting his hand and shaking it. "I'm Terri Gratton, barista by day and evening, mental support to Daredevil girlfriend. Sometimes, I see things. I do not have superhero name, not that I would deserve one."

"That's probably debatable, but we'll get to that. I forgot to mention I love naming people and ships," Cisco admitted and Terri grinned, pointing in the approximate direction of the Cortex.

"Do they have one?"

"Oh yeah. Verdevil."

Oh-oh, she was so gonna use that one day. It was brilliant.

"That's actually pretty cool. I'm gonna use that against them," she scrunched her nose with how wide she grinned and then her face fell. _Devil. Fisk. Shitstorms_. Vera had looked like hell when Terri saw her and it was only the premise of talking about Terri's powers that could get her mind of it. Now it was back. Terri took a deep breath, leaning onto the nearest stool, meeting Cisco's gaze seriously. "You saved Vera's life. Thank you, Cisco."

Cisco seemed taken aback by the abrupt change of atmosphere and only managed to shrug modestly.

"It was mostly Barry. We just… traced the call. I… I couldn't see anything," he confessed heavily, seemingly guilty.

Terri knew that feeling.

"You still saved her. The things you see… what are they like?" Terri asked, worrying her teeth over her lower lip.

Terri's nerves were wracked for the lack of better word. As much as she was excited and relieved and _everything_, she was also scared that this wouldn't go well. Despite usually enjoying spontaneity, this was a bit uncomfortable; her visions weren't a part of her life she was used to talk too much about, not even with her best friend. Vic had an exception, being the amazing boyfriend he was, but Terri still couldn't say she quite enjoyed it.

Vera had said that Cisco was like her. But _how much_ like her? Was he also seeing… bad things? Or was he lucky enough to see good ones too? Clearly, he couldn't get a vision on command either – Terri wasn't sure if that should sooth her or unsettle her.

Cisco's mouth twisted in a strange grimace.

"I haven't seen all that much. I mean, I saw Doctor Light robbing a-" he paused at Terri's raised eyebrow. "Oh, she's a metahuman, like, with superpowers too, but I guess you already caught that. I saw some more too. It's always just bits and pieces. Kinda bummer, actually. Not knowing what's that about, you know? Like, uhm… I saw Vera, well, making out with some guy who was definitely Daredevil, and I saw her stitching him up, but never got a time frame, so couldn't really make anything out of it."

Terri only managed to blink. The shock and amusement caused by Cisco seeing Vera kissing Matt in his vision was mixed with envy; clearly, his visions weren't all that tragic. Her excitement fell a little. He wouldn't truly understand either.

"Well, good for you. At least you don't only see people almost dying…"

"Yeah, about that…" he murmured, a shiver running through him.

"Oh? Have you seen…? I saw Vera watching a building fall on her boyfriend-"

"Oh my god, are you the reason why she called Ol- _all_ the back-up?! The Arrow?!"

Terri's eyebrow jumped nearly to her hairline "You know the Arrow? Oh, right, Flash and Arrow, they teamed up before, right?" she recalled an article out of blue. Plus, the hesitation with the _all_ and- "You even know who the Arrow is! Wow! The world is so small!"

Cisco sighed in obvious relief at her excitement and acceptance. "Thank god, I'm so glad I don't have to talk in puzzles… alright, what else did you see?"

"It's your turn."

He hesitated, paling a little. Terri could instantly tell he was about to talk about the death he saw and mentioned; she was grateful he was willing to open and share an experience. She charmed a tiny smile to encourage him.

"You know… there was this… speedster, other than Barry and… I was the first to figure out who he was. And he…" the man gulped, horror of the memory in his dark eyes, "he put his… vibrating hand through my heart."

Cisco's shaky voice trailed off, deadly silence falling. Terri was sure her own heart stopped.

What… what? But—how was he still- vision- had he seen it and was able to prevent it?!

Oh _shit_, she couldn't breathe. _His own death?!_ He saw himself die?! Was that what was coming to her? It wasn't like she hadn't thought of that before – because, _oh, _she had, okay. She had never had a vision about herself, but… logically… maybe the last vision she was about to get would be… about her own death.

She squeezed her eyes shut at the nauseating idea.

"Ho—how did you- you know, uhm…?"

"Barry. For a very different reason, he ran back in time. He didn't even know I was dead. He ran back in time and changed the timeline and so I never knew that I found out who the villain was. And then the dream came. The very first vision. A… a memory-"

"Of your own… death. From another… _timeline?"_ she finished, her head spinning with the revelation. "Holy shit., your life is so crazy!"

"Yeah. I guess it's your turn now," he whispered, voice still carrying traces of the previous tremble.

Terri gulped. Fair was fair, right? It wasn't _her_ death, but… at the time, it felt like it. And it came in a dream of some sort.

"I saw Matt fight with some old guy. At the time, it made no sense, I… I haven't_ known_ who he was yet. But I was there. At Vera's apartment, where it happened. I was watching the guy and Matt fight and the next thing I know… there is terrible pain and… a fucking katana is sticking out of my chest."

It was Cisco's turn to be horrified. "You-"

"I saw the scene… felt it… from Vera's perspective."

"_Holy mother of-_ that's insane! And _awful!"_ he added quickly, when he noticed her incredulous expression.

Good thing he had. Because really? Just 'insane'? It was more than that! The nightmares about it still haunted her! She gave him an expectant look, waiting for him to add another horror story.

"Ugh… a guy. But he's not really a guy… he's, uhm… another speedster, he actually... he broke Barry's back few weeks ago. He's from another Earth, just like Harry and his daughter who's kept by Zoom, and Doctor Light and Jay… and-"

He stopped in midsentence when he felt Terri's wide eyes on him.

Another… _Earth?_ Come again? Another speedster? Zoom? Someone broke Barry's back?!

"Right. Ever heard of the theory of multiverse?" Cisco asked reluctantly and Terri just shook her head, unsure whether she should be afraid of hearing _that story_ or excited.

"…nope."

A slow but honest smile spread on Cisco's lips. "Oh, you're gonna love this. So, here's a thing…"

Terri was still processing the idea of her doppelganger living on another Earth (possibly Earth_s_), who might be completely different. And she wasn't talking hair. Like… her personality different. Hell, she could be a novelist. A scientist. A cook. A hooker. For all she knew, she could be the one dating a superhero! Or a villain. She herself could be a supervillain. Shit_._ Jesus, _shit_.

"A bit much?" Cisco asked with an innocent, but a bit guilty grin and offered her a lollipop which seemed to come from nowhere – from nowhere of one of the drawers.

It worked. She laughed at the ridiculous gesture, but took it, grinning when Cisco stuck one in his mouth too. She hadn't had the candy in years. It felt good. She needed a sugar rush.

"You could say that, Mr. Ramon. So… have you met your twin yet?"

Cisco just shook his head, looking half-disappointed and half-relieved.

"Nope. But Zoom had been sending those, usually evil, to hurt Barry and kill their 'twins' on this Earth, so I can't say I mind. Not meeting myself could mean that I don't have an _evil_ twin, but, you know. Not eager to find out," he shrugged and Terri nodded in understanding.

"Alright. So, uhm, your powers. How do they work?" she pried carefully, causing Cisco's figure sink further into a chair.

"Vaguely. _Randomly_, that's how. Usually I touch something – or someone. Like with Vera. I touched her forearm and saw her make-out session-"

Terri giggled at the image painted in her head again. She couldn't help it. Poor Vera. Poor Matt. But it was also absolutely hilarious.

"Right? Anyway, yeah, that's it. Sometimes it's out of blue. But it's usually a warning."

This time, Terri's nod was thoughtful. "Warning. That's the same, except I _only_ see warnings. For me, it's out of nowhere. No touch. No time frame in which it would happen – I mean, sometimes I can see if it's night or day, but that's about it. Sometimes it's just a feeling – I knew my boyfriend got hurt, _somehow_, but that was all. It sucks."

Cisco gave her a compassionate smile, before it turned into almost jovial one. "Tell me about it. Now I know you're taken too. _Sucks_."

Terri laughed, shoving his shoulder playfully. She was grateful for the lift of their spirits. She really needed this. And she truly liked this guy.

"You _are_ kinda like me, Cisco Ramon," she admitted with a grin, feeling familiar warmth of friendship building in her chest.

The young scientist smiled brightly right back. "That I can see, Theresa Gratton. I think this is a beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"_Casablanca_. Classics."

Cisco's face lightened up even more. "I take it back, you already are my new bestie! You know movies!"

"…it is a classic," Terri shrugged, making a face. It was obvious! Everyone surely knew that!

"Hey, I know people who haven't seen Star Wars, so-"

"No!" Terri gasped, clutching her chest theatrically, rewarded by Cisco's equally horrified face.

"I know! Right?!"

"Terrible. What an insult…"

They bitched about the lack of pop-culture knowledge of some people for a long time after that. Terri noticed Vera's figure standing in the doorway, smiling sickeningly sweet and happy smile, but she didn't call her out on it. If she wanted to join them, she would.

She didn't. She distanced herself after a while, giving her friend a wink. Terri reciprocated the gesture unnoticed, looking back at Cisco then, who was imitating Yoda at the moment. Hint: he was great at it. And she thought this actually might be a beginning of a beautiful friendship.

"Hey Terri?" he hummed out of nowhere, interrupting his great impression

"What?"

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for a kick-ass name, would you? I know you said you didn't deserve one and blah, blah, but I just thought of a perfect name for you," he exclaimed, nearly jumping in excitement. Terri didn't have the heart to deny him and sighed.

"Alright. Hit me with it," she encouraged, her fingers motioning as if she wanted him to come at her during a cage fight.

"So… you see things, right? Vibe is already taken, but… I think Agnes would suit you perfectly."

Terri blinked, surprised. Why Agnes? 'Vibe' was clearly something newly made up, but this felt like a reference to a actual person; or a fictional character. Realization dawned to her, her lips parting.

"Agnes. As if… Good Omens?" she breathed out, astonished. It was _brilliant_.

"Just for knowing her, you totally deserve a cool name," Cisco pronounced and for the second time that day, he held out his hand for her to shake. "Nice to meet you, Agnes. I'd be honoured to be your friend."

Terri was overtaken by giddiness and accepted the offered hand enthusiastically, a chuckle escaping her. Cisco threw a wide smile right back at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Vibe. I'd be honoured to be your friend too."

The room was wrapped in a metaphorical warm blanket, allowing Terri to cocoon herself in it. She couldn't say she was happy Vera had been kidnaped and went though that shit, but… meeting Cisco was one of the best things that happened in years. And whether she liked it or not, she would have never learned about Cisco's powers if it wasn't for that.

She felt like a bitch for thinking this way, but when Cisco started to tickle her, sending her into a bit of mad laughter, she couldn't but push the dark images away.

-.-.-.-

Notes:  
I know a person who hasn't seen Star Wars, several of them, actually. I'm one of them. Shame on me?

Fair warning – I have no word written from the next chapter and there's probably gonna be action (not to mention my headspace occupies itself with my other wip), _so_ it will take longer than usual. Hope you'll stay tuned anyway. Love you, guys :-*


	16. The Flashdevil team-up

**16\. The Flashdevil team-up**

Vera couldn't tell she wasn't beaming when she saw the way Cisco interacted with Terri and vice versa. If she hadn't been so happy for her friend being fully appreciated and grinning like a fool despite the shitty situation they had recently dealt with, she might even be jealous, because Terri apparently found herself a new bestie.

Terrisco was a match made in heaven; and Vera was clearly spending too much time with Cisco, because since when she was entitled to name a bromance? She giggled at the thought, making a mental note to share her creativity with the engineer later.

Matt took off with Barry, who had offered to take him to the gym in STAR Labs. He had said it was probably a different kind of gym than Matt was used to, but if Vera was being honest, she thought Matt looked so relieved he would have a way to vent his emotions, he didn't even care. Vera hadn't wanted to follow, knowing Matt needed privacy to beat a shit of something when dealing – especially since this was about her. Her presence would only weight him down.

Instead, she went to explore the building. It wasn't the brightest of ideas; she was left alone with her thoughts and her mind was not the most accommodating place these days. She hated how easily her brain busied itself with the memories of Fisk.

Vera knew he wasn't the threat anymore – or everyone believed so. She desperately wanted to trust them, but wishing to believe and actually doing it were two different things. She wondered if she would have felt differently about it if she didn't have to live through the torture, the memories haunting her. She wasn't kidding anyone. She knew damn well that this left a scar that could never be erased. Except… maybe… maybe it could.

The idea caused her stop dead in her mindless track. Cisco had erased Fisk's and many more men's memories. Could he do the same with hers?

"_No doprdele,"_ escaped her lips, the curse barely comprehensible as it mixed with an incredulous chuckle.

There probably wouldn't be nightmares. No shadow of fear and agony over her life – at least a shadow not as dark. She wouldn't be as miserable, waking up to Matt looking at her like he was about to cry and beat the shit out of himself. The thought alone chased tears in her eyes. They could both so be much better-

Would they, though? Or would it tear them apart, her not knowing precisely why Matt was so anxious about the whole thing? How would her brain even react if she had a reminder of the events, her scars – and she had no doubt they would be visible, at least some of them – proving just how bad it had got? What would it feel like, knowing there was a hole in her memory, hearing about the event, but being unable to grasp the whole concept? Would she really, _really_ want to undergo a process of _induced amnesia?_

Her head was spinning with all those thoughts, her feet getting their own mind and starting to walk again. She only realized as much when she walked into a room and was welcomed by an exasperated cry.

"Oh for God's sake!" a man shouted, clearly frustrated. "Is there a place in this godforsaken building where a man can have a little privacy and actually work with _no interruptions?!"_

Vera blinked, harshly snapped back to reality. The tall dark-haired man with glasses was unfamiliar to her and it confused the shit out of her. Was he a part of team Flash or was he an intruder? Was he dangerous? Her adrenalin kicked in instantly, fear constricting her ribcage. She didn't feel like kicking ass; she was still looking a bit like a mummy and her body was ridiculously weak. She wouldn't even be able to outrun this man if he chased after her, no doubt.

His bright eyes were sharp and icy, but he seemed annoyed more than anything else as he huffed and started pacing away from the room.

"I'm sorry!" Vera blurted out on instinct, backing away immediately. "I didn't mean to disturb you! I just… wandered. I'm sorry,…?"

The man squinted at her, his shoulders slumping in defeat as he stopped his abrupt leave.

"You're disgustingly nice. I'm Harry Wells. The other Wells, not the—never mind. You probably don't even know. Nice to meet you. Now if you could leave…"

"Of course. Nice to meet you, Harry. I guess you do know my name already…"

"That I do."

Vera swiftly turned on her heels, but before she could as much as step out, Harry's voice stopped her.

"I'm glad you're walking and talking. And that you helped Allen to get back on his feet, no matter if you intended it or not."

She was shocked when she glanced over her shoulder and even saw his _smile_; it was a little inconspicuous thing, but it was definitely there, softening his face for a bit. It made the corners of her lips quirk up automatically as well.

"Well, I'm glad I could be of service, I guess. You weren't in New York with them. Not one for sight-seeing?" she threw out experimentally, fully facing him. His face fell at instant and Vera scolded herself for such a stupid remark.

"I've been working on other things…" he wavered, looking Vera up and down before his brow furrowed and he sighed. "I came here in hope to get Allen's help. A speedster from… ugh, my Earth, he took my daughter."

Vera's stomach twisted in an unpleasant tight knot and she closed her eyes, secretely hoping t reverse time and _not_ saying a thing. That was even more stupid on her part then, reminding him of that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in earnest. Harry just nodded indecisively, pressing his lips together. Vera worried her teeth over her lower lip, guilt sitting in her gut. "But if anything I saw the team do counts for something, you'll get her back. They seem like a pretty capable bunch." She eyed the board he had been writing on when she had entered. It was a mess of equations she didn't understood. "As do you."

Harry was apparently taken aback greatly at her encouragement and her growing honest smile. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Thanks, Murdock."

"Macháčková. But you're welcome," she clarified, trying not to think about what that addressing made to her belly. "I hope you'll get to reunite soon."

"So do I."

Seeing he was itchy to get back to his problem, she just nodded and walked away.

"Don't make him feel too guilty. He had been through hell, just a different kind than you," he called after her lowly and Vera gulped, her shoulders falling. She glanced over her shoulder for the last time.

"I know he did, so I won't. I _don't_. I'm sure your daughter will feel the same."

With that, she finally left the man to his own devices again.

Back in the cortex, she found out she had been wandering the halls and labs for longer than she thought. Caitlin was monitoring Matt's brain with many sensors on his head – what? –, Cisco and Terri were back, talking quietly, and Barry was watching one of the big screen in the room, frowning.

Vera just blinked, wondering if she had fallen asleep. Mostly because there was a photo of Cisco and… _Daredevil_ on one of the computers? What the actual-

"Vera! You're back!" Terri cheered, hugging her as if Vera had taken a nap for like a year. "Thanks for inviting me along. This is awesome."

Vera gaped, unable to let out a word, mostly because her gaze fell on a mannequin in the corner. It suddenly made sense that Cisco had the picture. Surely enough, Matt's Daredevil gear was here.

Not that anyone mentioned anything about getting it from their home.

Vera freed herself from Terri's gentle embrace, her eyed glued to the mannequin, slowly walking to it.

"Ah-oh…" Terri hummed, knowing something close to tantrum was about to happen. And sure it was. Vera was _furious_. Had Matt gone completely mad? Was he really about to fight alongside a man who had fucking _superspeed_ against an invisible, more so, _undetectable _thief?!

"Matthew!" she hissed, spinning to the back where he was sitting on a hospital bed, letting himself to be probed. Which… what the actual fuck?! Was he out of his mind? Since _when_ he didn't mind being poked at? This definitely was a dream. It _better_ be or so help her god…

Matt grimaced and shot Caitlin an apologetic grimace before taking the cap with sensors off.

Before he could as much as take a step in Vera's direction, the alarm blared through STAR Labs again, making everyone jump. Barry was in the suit within a blink of an eye, causing a gush of wind playing with Vera's hair.

Blood froze in her veins when Matt's head tilted the direction of the suit, her heart speeding up to hundred and fifty her minute at least.

She recognized the look of determination on his face as Barry glanced his direction and did _not_ like it.

"Don't you fucking d-!"

She didn't even finish the sentence and the two men were gone with a haunting silent 'sorry' from Barry. Matt's suit vanished from the mannequin as well.

Vera growled in frustration, her chest tight, her head ponding with hundreds of scenarios. In many of those, Matt ended up with broken back, just like Barry had apparently had recently and he was the guy with freaking superspeed.

If her hands weren't bandaged, she would have pinched the bridge of her nose. Or punched a wall.

Now she could only settle for running to look over Cisco's back as he immediately glued himself to a computer with a microphone.

"Alright, guys, tell us what you see," he encouraged them and Vera gritted her teeth. Sure, add ableism to the list. As if Cisco could feel her judgement, he reluctantly added: "And sense."

"Big fat nothing," Barry complained, while Matt remained silent. They _had_ provides him a comm at least, right? This was a city he didn't even know! His senses must have been all over the place, completely messed up after being carried in the speed of sound on top of that!

Vera closed her eyes shut, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart and ease the burning panic rising up her throat. Terri placed a hand on her shoulder delicately and squeezed when Vera didn't flinch in pain. Truth to be told, she wasn't sure she would have felt it even if Terri hit a sore spot. She was out of her mind, images of Matt beaten bloody to pulp flashing in front of her eyes.

How could they be so reckless to let him tag along?!

"They're on the corner. Just standing in front of the bakery. They have a lot of tech on them… and I'm pretty sure it's a _her_," Matt spoke out of blue and a gasp sounded both from the comms and the lab.

"Told you," Caitlin hummed. Vera's eyes snapped open in shock.

"How can you hear that?" Cisco wondered out loud, but shook his head as his fingers moved over the keyboard, a visual of the said bakery, Vera assumed, appearing at one of the monitors. "I swear I see nothing unusual in front that building. Surely not a chick covered in tech."

Vera did see something unusual. It was Daredevil in the shadows of a nearby alleyway. She gritted her teeth.

Next thing she knew, there was a blur and shouts and something crashed into the shop window, causing hundreds of shards flying around.

"Holy crap, I actually hit someone!"

Vera did not share Barry's excitement, but she couldn't say she wasn't a bit relief. Maybe Matt wasn't in danger after all.

_Just don't jinx it…_

"Electricity is cracking differently now. You see anything of her?" Matt asked. "She's crawling out of the window now. Go!"

This time a body appeared after it hit a street lamp, something snapping and causing flashy pieces of golden jewellery spill to the pavement. It wasn't a whole body that appeared next to it, but they could clearly make out the back of a person as if covered in strange sensors.

Holy shit! The woman actually had an invisible suit?!Nope, not relevant right now.

She didn't get up again. Vera just… started. That was it?

Suddenly, the body was gone with a smudge over the screen, appearing again just few seconds before a wild blast of wind rushed to the room and nearly knocked Vera over. Cisco and Caitlin clearly knew to hold onto something and Terri had enough energy to stand upright.

A brilliant chuckle echoed in the cortex and here they were, Barry's delighted face shining as he lost the cowl. Matt stood aside, apparently gathering his messed up senses again, but Barry was downright _gleeful_.

"Well, that was fun," he exclaimed and walked over to Matt to give him an African handshake as if they were besties.

Vera was at loss of words, especially when Barry bumped Matt's fist after that and the other man just went along with it, a tiny smile gracing his face.

She just threw her hands in the air in exasperation; Barry swung on his feet, oblivious to her mood, and bumped his fists with Cisco too. Caitlin only smiled at the speedster and he gave her a wing.

"We should invite you over more often," Cisco grinned at the Devil and Vera just closed her eyes, attempting to calm herself down.

Yes, she wanted to murder Matt on spot for taking such risk. Then again, he was here in one piece, absolutely unharmed and she kinda wanted to hug him for that.

She never heard him approach as she tuned out the chat between team Flash and excited Terri. Matt's whisper of her name had her sighing, but she refused to open her eyes again despite his apparent proximity.

His gloved fingers brushed her cheek tenderly, dropping a loving kiss to her forehead.

"Were fine," he breathed to her hairline, leaving another soft kiss there. "And it's over, just like that."

"I'm still mad," she grumbled, but the relief and his tender gestures had her slowly melting. She couldn't be mad at him for long, especially since he deserved a little victory too – now more than ever.

He cradled her jaw, meeting her lips in a chaste peck. He was smiling a brilliant smile when she finally looked at him. Her shoulder slumped in defeat, his caramel-whiskey eyes as bashful as delighted.

"Noted."

Vera rolled her eyes and he withdrew. She only realized where they were then, heat rushing to her cheeks.

"Aww, look at that. They are soooo sweet," Cisco gushed, causing Vera to blush harder.

"I have to deal with that all the time. This is why Verdevil is my OTP," Terri hummed and Vera gaped. The what? Was that… their… shipname? They actually had a shipname? _Verdevil?_

Terri grinned at her innocently, pointing at the engineer.

"Not me. That's his fault."

Despite herself, Vera chuckled. "Well, I'll have you know that Terrisco is my new favourite bromance."

Terri let out a delightful laugh as Cisco's jaw fell to his lap.

"Nice one," Barry commented with a wink. "I think you broke him."

Caitlin playfully poked Cisco with her index finger, while Matt's arm sneaked about Vera's waist. She didn't fight it, allowing the relaxed atmosphere to suck her in.

"Oh yes," Caitlin exclaimed, diagnosing Cisco. "Definitely broken."

"Shut up, Snow!" Cisco slapped her hand away, rising from his seat and dramatically placing both of his palms over his heart. "I declare my love to you, Vera."

Vera snorted along with everyone else – besides Matt, who squinted at Cisco suspiciously despite or _because _he couldn't see the hilarious expression on Cisco's face.

"Still engaged, Cisco. Quite happily," she reminded him, earning a soft squeeze from Matt and kiss on her temple.

"_Really?"_ he whispered barely audible and Vera shifted in his embrace to support her words with a kiss on his lips. The loving puppy eyes she received in reply made her heart swell. She assumed no verbal confirmation was needed after that.

There was what she knew: Matt was an idiot. An exceptionally stupid and reckless idiot. But he was hers. He always would be, she hoped. They were engaged after all.

"Well. We caught a Ghost and we had a happily ever after kiss. What's next?"

Vera smirked at Cisco's remark as he lazily stretched with his arms up after the hard work. "How do you usually celebrate?"

"With coffee. But we can make an exception. I could eat. Chinese?"

Barry only wiggled his eyebrows. "Just tell me what you want. Delivery coming right up."

"Ever thought of a career change?" Terri teased the speedster. "'Cause I'd love to get my takeout much faster."

Everyone chuckled at that, their loud voices luring Harry in.

"Hey, stranger! Up for a little take out?"

Harry's eyebrows quirked at that, as if he was actually interested. "Big Belly Burger?"

"I don't know what that is, but it sounds even better than Chinese," Terri admitted, curiously scanning everyone's faces.

"Anything Harry wants," Vera shrugged, earning surprised glances as she addressed the supposed stranger. "Yeah, we met, no need for introductions. Food?"

She received exactly six approvals. If she counted her stomach, it was actually seven.

Barry laughed at the sound her body produced. "Big Belly Burger it is."

-.-.-  
Notes:  
I honestly cannot tell you why the chapter took so long to write. I guess life and Steve/SPN fic got in the way. I hope you enjoyed anyway. We're nearly at the end ;)


	17. A phone call away

**17\. A phone call away**

Everyone was digging into their burgers – Vera still with a little help of her loving fiancé, which Cisco found equally hilarious and sweet – when their peace was interrupted. They could hear the furious clicking of heels before they could see the woman enter the STAR Labs cortex..

"YOU!" Iris exclaimed exasperatedly, pointing at Matt, waving a tablet in front of his face.

Vera was opening her mouth, but Terri beat her to speaking. "Lady, I don't know who you are, but this man is blind. He can't see what you're-"

"That's a load of _crap!_ He's the guy in the costume! That—that Daredevil guy! He's not blind! Just faking it-"

"IRIS!" Barry yelped, absolutely horrified, and Cisco straightened in his chair at the unusual sound. Barry was yelling, at Iris no less. The world started spinning, right?

The engineer shot Matt a quick glance to check his expression, expecting a royally pissed one. Instead, he just looked tired.

"Miss West, I can assure I am legally blind since I was nine years old-"

"Which is something you would know if you ran a background check for your baseless and _fucking _insulting accusations!" Vera grinded her teeth, a fire in her eyes.

Cisco winced, reminded of the expression the barista had worn after she took down the guy in the café. He had almost forgotten about it, seeing the fragile state she had been earlier, the bandages still covering way too much of her body. But _boy_, he wouldn't make the same mistake again. This girl was a freaking fighter and she had fire in her. It wasn't a coincidence she was engaged to a man without fear.

Verdevil for the win.

Even though Cisco felt a bit sorry for Iris being at the receiving end of Vera's rage, he couldn't say he blamed the woman. What Iris said was just rude.

"Vera-"

The girl shook off Terri's hand. "No. She can't just come in here, yell accusations and wave things in our faces. I thought you were a journalist. You _saw_ his eyes! The nerve on you-"

"Vera, sweetheart. It's okay. I… I get it," Matt soothed her in soft voice, planting the gentlest hand on her shoulder, wary of touching her cuts, no doubt. "Miss West, I'm not gonna lie and deny your accusation of me being of assistance to Barry. I do, however, have to disapprove of you thesis. My eyes aren't working at all. Vera said it. You saw it by yourself. You still can."

Cisco felt a chill run down his spine, maybe even more intense than when Vera had exploded. Matt's voice was even. _Too even._ Cold. Rehearsed. It was a lawyer's voice – the unpleasant kind. Clinical. Cisco's stomach turned around, sensing a calculated threat in it.

The engineer could only assume which part had pissed him off the most. He could imagine Vera's need to step up for him playing a part – he guessed Matt's ego could have been bruised by that need of another person to defend him as if feeling the urge to stand up for the weaker individual. Even when he must have known that Vera was just genuinely insulted for his part, it still wasn't helping.

Iris had the decency to lower her eyes under the strict tone, probably giving a second thought to the way she had marched in. She gulped before looking up again.

"My apologies, Mr. Murdock. It's just… Barry was blinded-"

"I'm aware. We spoke of that too."

"I'm sorry . But… that's huge. You're—you can't see and you're a… a vigilante. That's incredible!"

Vera's noise of disapproval was less distinct this time, but still present. Cisco would swear he heard '_ableist'_ fall from her lips. That was a bit mean, because a blind vigilante _was_ freaking cool and she must have known that too; then again, Cisco understood that after the scene Iris had made, Vera was simply _not_ happy with her, no matter what. Also, Matt smiled at that, now sensing more of her support, rather than protectiveness and patronizing.

"Sight is overrated," the man in question muttered, suddenly a bit sheepish. "Can we move on? Just… don't tell anyone."

Judging by the resigned tone, Cisco could only guess that Matt wasn't happy with the large amount of people knowing his identity, apparently still growing – however, he was too tired to give the lady the shovel talk.

The corners of Cisco's lips twitched when he thought of Vera looking more than happy to do it for him. Yeah. Verdevil all the way. Cisco's new OTP, that was for sure.

Though Olicity was a solid thing too.

And the fact he was the part of strictly platonic but no less awesome Terrisco only made it better.

Iris offered to take the New Yorkers to a tour around Central City as an apology and to everyone's surprise, they agreed. It wasn't all that shocking though, considering. They might as well make some nice memories of the city, ones without blood and guilt. Barry tagged along; Cisco suspected he wanted to keep an eye on the reporter, not afraid she might be tactless again, but dreading her switching to her work-mode and interrogate Matt aka Daredevil.

It was sure a valid worry.

On the brighter side, it gave Cait and Cisco an opportunity to work their little project they had only discussed in the shadows. Sure enough, Harry had caught their scent and decided to permit himself to assist them.

The day was just full of surprises.

Verdevil with Agnes returned around seven p.m., bearing gifts in a form of the Chinese they had missed for lunch. Cisco honestly loved them for thinking about the lab rats as well when they had had dinner. While the STAR Labs trio stuffed their tummies, Matt and Vera packed the little they had brought.

Barry was about to bring them home this very night. It saddened Cisco more than just a bit; he had got used to them. It was never easy to say goodbye and he knew that they all had busy enough lives and there wouldn't be many reunions. What warmed his heart though and made him giddy was the fact Vera called out Terri on.

"You're not packing," she pointed out, eyes narrow in stark contrast with her slowly forming grin.

"Nope."

Vera shot Barry a look and he shrugged innocently. "She asked. Of course we would have her for a bit longer."

The smile on Vera's face battled the one on Cisco's; the engineer nearly jumped in his seat, putting his noodles away as he rushed to Terri's side.

"Will you have me too?" the orange-haired barista asked, almost sheepishly now.

He nudged her side. "Don't insult me, Agnes."

She nudged him back as he addressed her their secret nickname and Vera raised a curious eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it, dear Ver part of the Verdevil," Terri winked at her friend and Cisco chuckled.

Vera snorted at Terri note and rolled her eyes as she gave her a hug, whispering something in her ear. It might have been only Cisco's imagination, but he would swear Terri's eyes were a bit glassy after they parted. He wasn't about to poke at it – some secrets, even though there weren't many of that kind, were better left hidden.

Matt was the most sober one of them all, standing my Barry's side.

"I guess this is a goodbye then," he exclaimed, friendly smile on his lips. His true expression was hidden by his glasses, it was tough to read; Cisco had got used to seeing him without them for Vera's benefit. "I don't even know how to thank you all."

Even Harry emerged from the privacy of his workshop to say goodbye. _Miracles do happen, _Cisco thought, still a bit puzzled about when Vera had met the man and _how exactly_ she had made him warm up to the visitors – as much Harry could warm up to someone anyway.

"Stay in touch," Cisco offered, deadly serious. "And convince Vera to accept her goodbye gift from us."

The shock was evident on the face of every person who didn't know about their side project.

"A gift? What greater gift can you give me? You _literally_ saved my life," Vera said as if wanting to remind them.

Ha. That was a little hard to forget.

Caitlin shrugged, shy smile on her lips. "Come with us? I wanted to redress the bandages for the last time anyway."

No one questioned that they wanted to do that in private – the changing _and_ the giving. Vera wore a bewildered expression of her face, perhaps a flash of guilt in her eyes.

"You don't have to do that, you know. And gifts-"

"Ah-ah! Matt will not leave you alone if you refuse," Cisco stopped her playfully and her shoulders fell in resignation.

She obediently sat down when Cait asked her and held out her left arm first.

Cisco majestically presented their masterpiece; a pair of goggles, which seemed to confuse the barista even more.

"What are those?"

Cisco beamed, pride bursting in his chest like freaking fireworks on 4th of July. "That, my dear Vera, is your night goggles."

"_Night goggles._ Right. Thank you…?"

Cisco laughed at her honest attempt to be grateful for a thing she didn't understand what was for.

"When we— well, when I walked through everyone's consciousness, I used these babies-"

"I don't want my memories erased," she blurted out instantly, startled. There was a strange glint in her eyes, something beyond fear, and Cisco flinched.

He couldn't blame her for coming to the conclusion she had come to. He sure didn't want to get into _why_ wouldn't she though. Of course, he himself could name a few, but he was surprised she was so abrupt to refuse.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "It actually wasn't what I was suggesting. We alternated them to work the way we wanted before. The original version – the one I'm showing you now, back to their beginnings – was for something else. They helped me… they helped me to navigate through a dream. With limits, sure, but I think we managed to work out the glitches."

Caitlin had to actually remind Vera to breathe and switch her arms, so she could take care of her right one. A smile was attacking her lips when she observed Vera's reaction, the barista's eyes growing wider with each second.

"These goggles help to navigate through a- a dream," Vera parroted with a stutter, furiously blinking as if she was processing the information. She seemed utterly fascinated and Cisco couldn't help but grin. It was Cait's idea to modify the device again, but he had huge contributions. Mostly, he _made_ the thing. "…so that's like… for lucid dreaming? Like _Inception_ lucid dreaming?"

Cisco nearly squeaked in joy. Terri was definitely Vera's friend, alright.

"First off, I _love_ you for that reference. Secondly, not really, but kinda. I wouldn't recommend you to use them all the time 'cause we're not sure about all of the effects, _but_ you can wear them when you have a nightmare and wake up, not wanting to go back to sleep, because you wouldn't want to step right back into it. You wouldn't have to be afraid that when having those. It's not perfect, but-" Cisco babbled, but was interrupted by Vera jumping from her seat since Caitlin finished her work.

Vera kinda looked like she was about to kiss them both. And she totally had tears in her eyes, her voice shaking when she spoke up again.

"Are you kidding me? That's amazing! You should totally start selling that! There are so many people who could benefit from that!"

Caitlin smiled. "They could, it was actually the original idea- well pretty much. The thing is, we were able to calibrate these for you specifically. Thanks to the many scans of your brain, we were able to pinpoint the wave lengths your brain works on when dreaming, particularly when having a nightmare – that we could tell due to the readings from your heart and blood-pressure monitor. The goggles should help you by resynchronizing the wave lengths to… well, better dreams."

"Right. So I can't lend them to Matt or anyone else . Because these goggles help _my_ brain to alternate to the wave lengths outside of _my_ nightmare, but for someone else, that frequency could be exactly the one to throw them into their worst nightmare."

"Yes. Exactly!" Caitlin called out excitedly, a bit astonished at Vera's quick understanding.

"You are absolutely incredible. Thank you! I… I don't even know what to say-"

"The thank you was good. A hug might do," Cisco hummed, teasing her.

Vera swiftly threw herself on him, not even wary of her injuries.

"Oh, wow, I was mostly kidding," Cisco admitted with a delighted laugh. A kiss landed on his cheek with a smack, which made him blush furiously. _"Oh sweet mother of dragons…"_

"I love the way you swear, Cisco Ramon. Thank you. And thank you, Doc- _Caitlin_."

"You're welcome, Vera. Take care – of yourself and him. He looks like he needs it," Cailin instructed her gently, her face falling noticeably. "I only hinted Matt what we could do, offering him to calibrate ones for him too, but…"

Vera grimaced. "He's too much of a martyr. He refused it vehemently, didn't he?"

"Quite vehemently," Caitlin admitted with a sad smile. "He seemed hopeful that we would make it work for you though. He cares for you very much."

"We might be a strange pair of co-dependents who need each other, but it works," the barista sighed, clearly disappointed with her man, but not at all surprised.

"I bet. You're a match made in heaven… I mean, Hell's Kitchen, whatever."

Vera giggled at the silly note and Cisco secured the device in a box he handed to her delicately. An idea was already brewing in his mind, but it needed more time for that. Plus, he had Terri now, he had to make most of their time together.

"Thank you, both of you. This means so much to me."

"We know. Be careful, Vera. You saved my life once too and I'm grateful, but maybe you should take it easy," Cait warned her softly and Vera hugged the doctor carefully.

"I can surely try. You take care as well. And don't you _ever_ let anyone ruin your optimism," she added with a wink and they nodded, slowly walking back to the cortex, where the rest of the team and the visitors had their own goodbyes.

Vera didn't forget to brush her hand over Harry's shoulder; she had probably recognized that this was the closest to a hug she could give him without him withdrawing. Cisco was fascinated anyway – the girl worked wonders, worming her way into everyone's heart. She grinned at Terri before turning to Barry.

"Ready?" the speedster asked for a good measure and Vera shrugged.

"As I'll ever be. Bye, everyone. And _thank you,"_ she repeated for the hundredth time, not sounding any less sincere than earlier.

With that, she was gone. Matt looked them over, as much as he could, shaking hands with the remains of team Flash. It was simple, but not less genuine than Vera's hugs. He too was truly grateful, that much was obvious.

It only took about two minutes and Barry was back to pick him up as well. Terri saluted him with two fingers and then he was gone too, a gush of wind being the only reminder of his previous presence.

Cisco sighed longingly after his two newly-gained friends and turned to the third, unable to resist the smile creeping to his lips.

"So, Gratton. What's next?"

-.-.-  
Notes:  
Sorry to all Iris' lovers, but she _can_ be a bit hot-headed and a pain sometimes (especially in early seasons). And I really wanted at least one ableist in all this. Soooorry!

Epilogue ahead, even though this probably felt like one too. But I think you might like it.


	18. Reborn

**Epilogue - Reborn**

Nearly a month had gone since they had parted ways – since Barry had brought them back to Hell's Kitchen. Life was finally getting back to normal; as normal as it could.

Vera returned to work, her cuts healing nicely, some not even leaving a scar behind, though she still took it easy when it came to her lessons – needless to say, with her fists not quite ready to strike, her kicks were turning more and more fabulous.

Matt was… antsy still, but he stopped having that terrible expression on his face whenever Vera was leaving to work in the morning and she knew all too well that he had his ears pricked up to make sure she got to the café safe despite what he was telling her. He started to go out with more vigour than before, desperate to tie any loose ends Fisk's prison break could have left behind.

Sleep was the worst, strangely enough, for both Matt and Vera – the whole Verdevil combo, as Cisco would say and never failed to mention when they called to catch up –, because that was when neither of them had control over their head, like _at all._ Matt had nightmares, refusing to ask team Flash for a pair glasses, one like Vera was using when she found herself wrapped in an endless spiral of sleep terror. Vera having the goggles helped to ease Matt's guilt, but not his own fears that followed him to the dreamland.

However, they were coming back to _their_ normal.

Rest assured, team Flash wouldn't leave it like that.

Vera was honestly just chilling on the couch for once, skyping her family when the strange bubble appeared in the middle of her living room.

She yelped as the vortex whirled, a man emerging from it. She quickly shot the laptop with a fake smile, saying she needed to go and snapped the device shut.

'_I need to go.' Understatement of the fucking year._

And then she recognized the figure, longish hair, a pair of futuristic goggles on his own, a gear that could only belong to a hero, and a goofy smile on the man's face.

"Cisco!" she squeaked, jumping from her seat to give him a hug. He sure didn't protest when she wrapped her hands around him. "You scared the _hell_ out of me. Good look, by the way. A heads-up would be nice though. And is that a freaking _portal?! _How-"

Cisco laughed as he patted Vera's back in a friendly manner and retreated, waving the strange blue vortex away.

Holy. Shit.

"Is that… are _you_ doing that?!"

Cisco raised one corner of his lips, taking off his goggles so Vera could see the warmth radiating not only from his smile, but also from his brown eyes.

"Funny thing? I have an evil twin. His name is Reverb. Well, was. That's the not so funny part. I visited another Earth – Harry's Earth – and that's where I learned my abilities rullez! Anyway, I got you something," the young scientist announced, casually leaning onto the backrest of the couch.

Vera still had no actual idea _how_ he had got here and what the hell was he talking about. Terri had mentioned the theory of multiverse Cisco had enlightened her in, but what on earth- Earth two? And last but not least… come again?

"You've got me something?" she parroted, blinking at the overwhelming amount of information, choosing the one subject she could attribute to. "Cisco, you saved my ass, you saved Matt's ass by protecting his identity, you gave us a place to stay, you gave me nightmare's free sleep and you _got me something?"_

"Oh yeah. 'Cause you saved my ass too. Well, technically Caitlin's, but— I really enjoy making stuff, okay? So. Your ultimate badassery in the café inspired me," he teased her as a new circle of the energy appeared like a window to his workshop and he simply reached through it before turning around. "Close your eyes. Good. And –voilà."

Vera slowly blinked her eyes open, honestly dreading what was waiting for her.

She definitely wasn't ready for _this._ Her mouth fell open. There was a dummy, looking just like one of those she had seen in the 'Arrow cave' and later in STAR Labs to keep the armours of the team members on. And exactly like back there, there was a costume on it. Like… _a superhero costume_. Or a vigilante costume, _whatever_.

It was very Black-Widow-y and Sara-Lance-y, a cat-suit, yet somehow original. The colour was definitely inspired by the Flash', but maybe more by Arsenal's outfit. Obviously, Daredevil's too.

The dark red blended into black – the crimson starting in the end of the sleeves and pant legs, dark colour of blood from the edge of V-neck resolving. On the mannequin's face was a shading mask – black with crimson edges – and it was the strangest and possibly the most beautiful shape Vera had ever seen; sure, the basic was all the same, an eye mask, but there were two… stripes or strands on each sides as if falling from the mask, but not hanging loose, somehow attached to the cheeks of the dummy. Of course, gloves, that seemed to be reinforced somehow. Red with black fingertips. It looked incredible.

"_No. Ty. Vole,"_ escaped her lips, her heart racing, her thoughts buzzing. "_Wow_."

"Is that a good reaction?" Cisco asked hopefully. Vera couldn't make herself to check his response to her shock, too fascinated by the costume. "What language is that anyway?"

"_Yes, it is. _And it's Czech. Don't use it when in Czechia. Oh god, _yes."_

"I know, right? Obviously, I assumed that when you're into hand to hand combat, you could use a case for brass knuckles on each side," he pointed at a small pocket at the upper part of the thigh areas, grinning like a madman, overexcited puppy and Vera didn't blame him _one bit_ for it, "and a leg holster for billy clubs, since your fiancé is in love with them or something. I thought you might be good with them too and I _might_ have asked Oliver and Roy who totally revealed you were amazing with them actually-"

Vera was absolutely dumbstruck, finally tearing her gaze away for a second. "When the hell did you do all this?"

"Between Terri and me sessions, but mostly after she left. She actually helped with the mask though – the design is super cool," he clearly couldn't help but brag, but again, she did _not_ blame him. It was more than 'super cool'. She was at loss of words. "By the way, the material? Super-resistant. Water-proof. Fire-proof."

Vera cautiously reached for it so she could feel it with her fingers. It was surprisingly soft. She told Cisco as much.

"I know. And here-" he pulled out something that looked like a... hair net? "I actually started working on that a while ago as a gift for Caitlin. Can I?"

Vera blinked, but let him to put in on her head. And as a charm, the net locked around her head, her hair in a perfect... helmet, making it ridiculously easy to-

"Is that for a wig?" she asked incredulously, chuckling at the unfamiliar sensation on her scalp. It didn't even pull at her hair!

"Yeah. It didn't pull your hair painfully, right? I tried it on myself several times to make it good."

Vera just shook her head, staring at the engineer. He could make a fortune with the devices he was coming up with, yet he kept using them for good. And to spoil her, apparently.

"That's _amazing_, Cisco."

"Thanks!"

His enthusiasm was infectious, but reluctantly, Vera let the reality knock on the door. There was a catch. An enormous catch.

"But-"

"Oh no. Of course there's a _but_," Cisco sighed, disappointed. Vera hated herself for being the cause of him feeling like that.

"As amazing as this is, I'm never going to wear it. In fact, Matt's gonna _punch_ you if he ever finds out you're basically encouraging me to hit the streets. I'm surprised Terri helped you with the mask, she has quite an opinion on me playing vigilante as well."

It _was_ freaking strange. She blamed Cisco's said enthusiasm – Terri might have been against Vera's short period of vigilantism, but when Cisco beamed and got animated about something, it was near impossible not to tag along.

"Well, you never know," he shrugged, a smile returning to his lips reluctantly, before turning into a fully excited grin. "You gotta admit though, it's pretty freaking cool, right?"

Vera laughed at the child-like happiness, but agreed. "It's… I don't even know what to say."

"Try it on? Please? Please, please, please…."

"Okay," she laughed again, not opposed to that idea at all. "Help me to get it off and give me a minute. You have a wig too?"

"Well, since you asked…" He pulled out a black bob wig with crimson ends. "I have little horns too, but…"

Vera chuckled, but accepted the wig and Cisco started to peel the clothes off of the mannequin. "Oh man, this is gonna be awesome."

It probably was, because while Vera could tell it fit like a glove on her own when she tried it on, Cisco's reaction was more telling.

"Oh god, this is really hot," he blurted out bluntly, only to cover his mouth with his palm then. "I mean… wow. You have no idea, Vera. It looks so badass and cool!"

"It does?" she worried, biting her lip. It _felt_ amazing, to be honest. She felt strong just by putting it on. Different. Powerful. Like taking on the world. It was crazy. Was this how Matt felt when wearing his armour? The new one at least?

"Oh yeah, trust me."

Cisco immediately snapped a picture and showed it to Vera instead of letting her go check in the mirror. Vera gasped when seeing herself. Alright, she totally _did_ look like she could kick ass.

"Okay, it kinda does look cool. If I can't wear it for crime-fighting, I'm visiting every single costume party in New York City just to show it off… and knock out some muggers on my way home, maybe," she added, unable to resist. She felt her body nearly buzzing in the suit.

"That's the spirit!" Cisco cried out, excited. "I have to think of a name though."

Vera huffed out a shot laugh. "Tianshi."

"What?"

"It's… it's what a friend calls me. He knows Matt is… the Devil. So he calls me an angel, apparently. Tianshi. It's Chinese," Vera explained, suddenly sheepish.

Cisco made a face, but not necessarily a disappointed one. More like… agreeable. "I hate that guy already. It sounds pretty great."

"So… what now?"

"Now I'm gonna send this picture to Team Arrow and Flash, because it's really freaking awesome, and then I leave as fast as I can, because I do have some sense of self-preservation."

"Matt _is_ gonna kill me if he finds out I have this," Vera conceded, shifting awkwardly. Oh, we was going to _murder her_, slowly and painfully.

"Yes, he will," a determined voice exclaimed confidently, sounding more like a growling of an animal.

Cisco's and Vera's head snapped to the door in fright, their voice ridiculously in synch as well.

"…shit."

Matt didn't murder anyone. _Yet._ He walked to Vera slowly and despite knowing he wouldn't actually hurt her, she felt like a pray and the Devil was coming out to play, the predator of the night hunting in a broad daylight. Cisco wisely moved out of the way, but wasn't that much of a coward to jump off via one of his magic circles or whatever.

Matt's eyebrows were knitted together in what looked like a concentration more than anything – even more than anger, which honestly took Vera aback. He stopped a feet from her, his true expression hidden behind his glasses, and cautiously raised his fingers to feel the edges of Vera's mask.

She closed her eyes when he breathed in through his mouth, clearly about to speak. Or yell, which was more likely.

"It's pretty similar to the one she wore."

Vera's heart raced, her brain feeling like cotton candy. Matt's voice sounded much weaker than she expected and he wasn't making any sense.

"Who?"

Matt's smile was sad, but it was definitely there. A little desperate, a little resigned.

"Gaia. To cover the scar," he rasped and Vera's lips parted.

Oh no. Oh crap, oh _fuck_.

"Yeah, okay, time to take it off."

"Who's Gaia?" Cisco peeped shyly, while Vera reached out to take off the stupid thing _hurting Matt_ off as fast as possible. Only for having her wrist grasped by his strong hold. She gulped.

Dammit, dammit, _dammit._

"A heroine from a book," she explained to Cisco, unable to come up with a better thing to do. What Matt actually wanted? He clearly hated this suit. Why wouldn't he let her lose it then? "Funnily enough, a girl born without a gene of fear. You know. Daredevil, the man without fear. Gaia, the girl without gene of fear."

"I'm a little lost..."

Matt licked his lips, lowering Vera's wrist. She reached for his glasses then, worrying her teeth over her lower lip as he allowed her to do so, but closed his eyes. "She… I met her when I was dreaming. In the coma. I found myself in a… an alternative reality of some sort. A reality in which I stopped- I stopped-"

"We don't have to talk about it, Matt," Vera whispered, already knowing how he would react. He wasn't letting this go. That was why he wanted her to keep the suit on for now.

Goddammit _shit! _Stubborn little- devil!

"Yes, we do," Matt opposed her firmly and Vera honestly wanted to turn back time just to avoid talking about it. She already realized how much this silly costume slapped Matt in his face, no need to dwell on it. But Matt had a different idea. Of course he had. When she glanced to his irises, she only saw determination to pour salt into the wound. "I stopped going out at night. I have never saved Vera from a mugging. And from… _an assault_."

"_Jesus."_

"She was found by the Black Widow and trained to become a vigilante. She went under the name Gaia. She had a big scar on her face from a knife – she was covering it with a mask, just like this one."

Vera wanted to punch herself when hearing him, the crack in his voice, the edge it brought him to. She was aware that was kinda his point – to show her how much this hurt him, not because he would want to hurt her back, but because he wanted to _show her_, knowing his pain will discourage her from the idea of running around in a costume. It didn't make it less frustrating.

_Lesson learned, move on!_

"People hurt each other to get what they want and they hurt those who stand in their way. No costume can provide enough protection. Fists, brass knuckles, knives, guns— _katanas_, those all leave scars. It doesn't matter how good you are. I've been training for years and it's still not enough, I still have plenty scars to prove myself right."

"I know," she whispered, ashamed she got carried away, but desperately wishing for him to just _stop_ already. "I know, Matt. I wouldn't— I wouldn't run around beating up criminals, I don't have tenth of your skills, I'm not crazy. I wouldn't-"

"That's a lie and we both know it."

"I _wouldn't_, unless it would be necessary," she hissed, her own anger spiking now.

"There's no way it _would_ be necessary."

"You _can't_ know that."

"I actually can."

Vera sighed tiredly and rubbed her forehead. "You _can't._ Either way, that's all hypothetical. I'm not planning on using it any time soon if ever. I got carried away, Matt. I was practically joking, okay? Can we please let it go now?"

His brown eyes were heavy with something she couldn't quite read, but were regaining their usual warmth as he whispered.

"Please don't joke about that. Please, Vera, don't do that."

She sighed again, reaching out to cup his cheeks, slowly brining her lips to his. He answered her tentatively, but she took it as a victory too.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to his mouth, causing his breath to hitch.

"I know. I'm sorry too. I overreacted."

She caressed his lower lip softly and his fingers touched the edge of the mask with hesitation. Vera's heart stopped.

"I'll take it-"

"No, leave it," he requested, sounding as if he wasn't sure.

She couldn't blame him; she understood nothing anymore. She tried to search his face to find an explanation, but she found none.

"What? Why?"

"I need to face that fear. I trust you, Vera. I… I know you wouldn't just risk your life for the fun of it and I honest to god believe you wouldn't become a full-time vigilante. It's just the memory in my head. I need to face it. So if you don't mind, it stays on."

Matt was a martyr. However, he was also fucking brave and she loved him for it. The corners of her lips rose before meeting his again.

"Okay."

She got lost in the kiss that followed, her fingers tangled in his hair, her lips locked with his, his arm sneaking around the tight not-spandex of her waist, his other sinking into-

Matt pulled away, discontent written all over his face.

"The wig is terrible. I like your hair so much better."

"Then take it off," she giggled and he did. To his disappointment, he had no idea how to remove the net. Vera had no clue either, but Cisco-

Jesus Christ, _Cisco_ was still standing there!

"He left a while ago," Matt hummed as if he was reading her thoughts and Vera felt the blush that crept up her neck and face, reaching the roots of her hair. Well. Now Cisco saw them make out real-life. She was never talking to him again without being red as tomato. Matt didn't seem as bothered though. "He's surprisingly tactful."

"_Oh."_

When she didn't release more of an intelligent sound, Matt's mouth spread in almost a teasing smile, his hand on her waist sliding just a bit lower. And lower… while his other cradled her face, his thumb grazing her kiss-swollen lips, causing her breath to hitch.

"But I gotta give it to him. This thing… it isn't half bad. What colour is it?"

Who sucked out all the air in the room?

She gulped, but tried to sound confident and playful. "Three guesses, Murdock."

"Red?"

"And black. It looks pretty amazing, actually."

So did Matt in his lawyer suit. Never mind. Vera did her best to describe her outfit to Matt in great detail, leading his hands over he parts she was talking about momentarily.

She had _not_ anticipated it being it as heated as it turned out, leaving her belly burning. To be fair, Matt didn't seem unaffected either – more like the opposite. Which… what?

"Oh my god. You think it's hot!" Vera called out, exasperated. After the scene he had made in front of Cisco?! Really? He thought it was sexy?! That nerve on him! "It turns you on. The dangerous vibe. Matt, how can you— you hate it and love it at the same time…?"

"Mm," he just hummed indefinitely, grabbing her hips to pull her closer. She gasped at the sensation – the effect on him was larger than she had guessed. The collision of their fronts was… hard, for the lack of better word.

"So that means…?"

"That means I'm gonna take it off now," he smirked and Vera quickly felt around the stupid and amazing hair-net, sighing in relief when she found the right spot and released her hair – only for Matt to instantly tangle his fingers in it and brought his mouth to hers.

"Oh. I always loved your planning ahead and not rushing into things head-on…" she hummed and it was the last words she was allowed to say before Matt grabbed her chin firmer and kissed the sass and confidence gained by the suit away.

Vera sure hoped Cisco didn't vibe what followed.

-.-.-  
Notes:  
The title of epilogue is referring to Gaia ;) I kinda miss her, I was enjoying writing her. You remember, right? You can always re-read 'And the World Was Gone' ;D

Thanks for reading and sticking up with me! You helped me shape this story up!


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